#justfluff

"This is it!" Peter pointed down to a building they were flying over. If he wasn't scared out of his mind, he would be so impressed by Hope and her wings. "Okay, I'm bringing us down." Slowly Hope lowered them to the roof, setting Peter on top of it before growing to her natural size. "I didn't realize how small they made you," she told the boy who stood little higher than her foot. "I've gotten kind of used to it, actually." He smiled and shrugged, then turned to the door. "Can we get outta here before we get seen, though?" Hope smiled and made a motion towards the door. "You're the one that lives here, so show me the way." The minute Peter started moving though, she knew it was a bad decision to allow him to lead the way. She had to wait at least five minutes before she even took a step. It was going so slow. "Peter!" The boy's head snapped up and he smiled when a blue suit came at them, landing a good distance away from the small boy. "Oh my god, Peter, are you alright? We heard the lock down code and I didn't know what was going on, then Tony called me...." She fell to her knees, face mask popping up as she bent over to look him over. "Oh, honey, what happened to your side?" "It's nothing, Pepper, I promise! It's already healing, see? Scab's almost gone." He showed her the thin line that was visible under the scab. "I'm all right." Pepper's eyes shone with tears as she scooped the boy into her cupped hands. "When I heard you were kidnapped, I feared the worst...I thought...Never mind what I thought, I'm just glad you're safe. You don't know how much Tony and I love you, Peter." She sniffled and pressed him close to her cheek. Peter blushed and grabbed onto Pepper in the only sort of hug he could do. He couldn't wait to get to his normal size so he could hug everyone who helped him. "Thank you," he managed to get out. "As much as I love these mushy lifetime moments, I think we'd better get inside." Hope's head swiveled back and forth as she looked around. Pepper nodded and stood slowly. That was when Scott appeared from the ground, shooting up like the proverbial weed." Hey there," he waved. "Let's go, Scott." Hope pushed his shoulder to the door and they all ran inside. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pepper was currently out of her suit and sitting on the couch, Peter on the arm looking around with a nostalgic smile on his face. Suddenly her wrist bands lit up and Tony's very breathy voice came out of one. "Pep, you're gonna have to get out of there now! I really screwed the pooch on this one, and Big Bird got away, but he knows where you are! I'm gonna have you contact Clint, tell him to let Laura know you're on your way to his farm. Piss Ant, you tell Hank where you're going. Be in touch right after I kick this chicken to the ground." Peter's face went white and he jumped onto Pepper's shirt as she stood up, clinging to the material for dear life. "Tony, no! You can't go anywhere near him without the team!" Pepper said, peeling Peter off her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, dear. He has my reactor. I..I let my guard down for one second and he tore it out. The suit's out of juice. Hon, I just need you to make sure you and Peter stay safe. I know I promised I wouldn't put you in danger, and here I am doing it again. Just go as fast as you can, Happy's coming to pick me up, and we'll go back to the compound so I can get another power source. Just, promise me you'll be careful." "I promise, Tony. And you make me the same deal, you hear me? Morgan still needs you." She was already tapping her bracelets to let her suit crawl out of them, placing Peter down near her chin as the bots closed around her body. "You got it, Pep. After this, we're gonna need a long vacation. Bring both the kids and just go somewhere we can have fun." Pepper didn't want to correct him that they only had one child, because they didn't at this point. Peter actually felt like theirs and she liked it. "You got it, Tony. I love you." "Love you too." That was the last of their conversation. She turned to see Scott and Hope getting their suits ready. "You're coming with us, right?" Hope shook her head. "No. You go, we'll hold off these guys, give you a head start." "Yeah," Scott added. "What she said, right honey?" The woman simply rolled her eyes. "I'll send you the address as soon as I'm done talking with Clint." The face plate closed around her and Peter, the boy fitting snugly against the woman's face. "You ready, Pete?" He nodded, face still red from what Tony had said, and she climbed the windowsill and took off, grimacing when Peter's scream echoed in the helmet. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ May heaved a tired sigh as she exited the elevator and got her key out. Already she missed Peter now that she knew he was alive. She had the number to the compound, but she didn't want to bother them, especially if Peter was in 'training' to control his new abilities. The one they called Happy had been calling her a lot, though. She didn't mind him. He was actually kind of handsome. The woman unlocked her door and walked in. And saw two people in weird suits standing in her living room. "Who are you?" she asked, slowly making her way into the apartment and grabbing a vase, holding it above her head. "I know Iron Man and I will call him!" "Miss, calm down," the winged-wait, wings!?-came forward, her hands up. "We're friends of Tony's too. We're here helping Peter." "How can I confirm that?" She raised the vase more when the man lifted his face plate and smiled. "Can I call Happy?" "Of course, yeah, go ahead. Would you like me to call him for you?" The man asked, giving her a lopsided grin. "No...I'll call him." She pulled out her phone and dialed the number, still holding her 'weapon'. "May? What's wrong?" Happy's voice came over the phone, his worried tone making butterflies in her stomach. "There are two odd people in my apartment that claim to know Tony, as well as Peter. One has wings." "Hey Happy," the man waved at the phone. "They're good. But you have to get out of there, May! Some bad people took Peter, but we were able to get him back. Pepper has him and is on her way to Clint's farm with him. I'll send you the address and you get here as quick as you can. You need to leave the city just in case this asshole has something on you." The winged woman cursed as she looked out the window, seeing a blue camarro screech to a halt in front of the building. "Looks like we're out of time." She turned back to May. "Miss, my name is Hope Van Dyne, and what you are about to see may seem weird to you, but know you are safe." She then looked to the man. "Ready Scott?" "Oh you know it." His face plate went down and he pressed a button on his hand and disappeared! "Where did he go?" May asked in a freaked out tone, raising the vase higher. "He's still here, he's just the size of an ant right now. It's a lot to take in, but know we're here to protect you. Now, go over to the window and we'll get you out of here." The woman did as she was told, cautiously making her way to the window, weapon still in hand. "Just listen to what they say and you'll be fine. I'm picking up Tony, but once we have what we need, we'll be heading to the farm as well. Just wait for me." May was nodding when suddenly she felt herself lifted and screamed when she was passed through the window by an unseen force. She fell, screaming the entire way, until she landed in Scott's arms, clutching his neck. "It's okay, I gotcha." When she had her bearings, May started smacking him. "Never do that again!" "Ow! Ow! Okay, okay! Stop hitting me!" Scott blocked every one of her strikes. When she moved to hit him again, that's when he noticed the man coming at them, fist glowing and an angry look on his face. "Down!" He shoved the hysterical woman to the side and shrunk to avoid the sparking punch aimed at him, then grew to kick him and shrunk again. He played this game until the attacker grew tired of it and headed towards the wide eyed woman, determination in his eyes. Herman flicked his wrist at her, sending a spark of energy towards her, watching as it zapped her arm just enough to attach the tracker Phineas had given him before he left. And just in time. "Oh no you don't!" Scott grew and grabbed the man's denim coat collar and threw him back, adding insult to injury with a kick to his solar plexus. "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's wrong to hit women?" The only response he got was a groan. "Miss, are you all right?" May nodded shakily. "Yeah....yeah, I'm okay..." She still had the phone tight in her grip, hearing Happy's voice calming her down. "I'm okay, Happy. Scott was here. I'm going to my car now. I'll see you there." And she hung up, turning to Scott again. "Thank you, for everything." "You're welcome, Ma'am. It's all part of the job." She smiled and ran to her car. A second later, Scott answered an incoming call. "Listen here, you little shit, I saw her first and you'll leave your grubby mitts offa her, you hear me?" "Happy?!" Scott answered in a shocked voice. "Yeah, it's Happy. And you'll leave May alone, or so help me, there will be no unshrinking from where I'll send you. Got it?" "Um...yeah, I got it...." Scott gulped as the line went dead. "That was weird." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Glancing at his watch, Tony had to tap his foot in impatience. He had watched Adrian Toomes take off in the direction of his wife what felt like two hours ago and here he was, still waiting for Happy to turn up. He knew it was a long drive from the compound, but this was ridiculous. Suddenly, he saw a black car speeding to where he was, spinning out on the pavement until it stopped right next to him. "Sorry I'm late, boss. But, had a few things to pick up." "Daddy!" Morgan's smiling face came around Happy's grump. "Really?" Tony asked as he went around to the passenger side. "You do realize I'm going to have to go back to the compound, right? To pick up another nano-reactor?" Bruce suddenly appeared, looking a little ragged. "Scott actually called us not too long after your fight with Toomes, so Happy thought to bring a couple, just in case." He patted the case next to him. "And this is why I so would have married you over Pepper, but you  didn't accept that night when I asked." Tony slid in and took the case from the scientist's hands. "Did you grab the stealth-" "We grabbed everything." Happy told him, starting to drive. "And, if you recall, which you probably won't, you were so drunk that night you asked a lamp post to marry you." He glanced back. "Morgan, sweetheart, you're gonna have to buckle up. Uncle Happy has to drive like a maniac." The little girl nodded and she did as she was told. "Is Peter okay?" Tony's heart leaped a little at that question. "Yes, honey. Peter is just fine. We're gonna go see him, okay? He's at Uncle Clint's farm." Or, at least he hoped he was. His bots had just finished crawling into the new nano-chamber. He lifted his shirt and placed it onto the electromagnets in his chest. He'd opted to keep them in from his first reactor for future designs. "What was going on at the compound?" he asked as the last of his suit stored itself. "Well....Justin Hammer was in the process of....blowing up parts of the building to get in." Bruce said lowly. "What? And you just left him there with all my research?" Tony was agreeably angry now. "Well, it's not like we had a choice," the scientist said nodding at Morgan. "Plus I'm sure Friday has all of your files locked down in an impenetrable system." "Fri, lock down all my files and seal the file room," he said to his phone. "Already done, Boss. Justin Hammer has not gotten past my defenses, but he has done considerable damage to the inner frame work." Tony sighed. "And this is why we can't have anything nice. All right, keep him out as long as you can. I'm on my way." Happy put a hand to his chest. "Not without the team you're not," he told the billionaire. "Last time you fought Hammer, you had Rhodey to help you, and you two barely made it out of that one alive." "Okay, one you're exaggerating. Two, my tech has gotten so much better since then. And three, where are we gonna stay?" "We could go home," Morgan said lowly in the silence of the car. "Yeah, but it's too far. Remember how Uncle Happy said it was too far?" "Maybe for you," Tony said. "So, we'll wait for the team to be done with their little side quest, gain the experience points and we'll all go face the dragon in the cave together." "Thank you," Happy stated and they drove in silence. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pepper saw the farm in the distance and heaved out a sigh. Getting the address from Happy, she had asked Friday to plot out the shortest flight plan. Nonetheless it took them almost five hours to get to the safe house and she was sure Peter was uncomfortable being pressed against hard metal and her chin. "A call is coming in from Ms. Laura Barton," Friday informed her. "Answer," she said, wincing when her speaking made for an even tighter space for the teen. "Peter, are you okay?" "I'm fine, Pepper. Just a little cramped." the boy groaned out after the vibrations surged through him. "Mrs. Stark? Is that you coming towards us?" A female voice came over the phone line connected to her suit. "Yes. You must be Laura, right?" The suit automatically slowed its propulsion and she landed softly on the grass. A dark haired woman came out of the large house, worry on her face as she looked over the blue suit. "Mrs. Stark?" Pepper touched her bracelets which held her suit and felt it crawl over her skin. Still a new and weird feeling to her. The minute the bots withdrew from her face, she reached out a hand to catch Peter as he dropped. "Hello, Laura. Call me Pepper, please. It's nice to finally meet you." The blonde climbed the stairs, looking at the beautiful porch, so much like her own home. "You have a gorgeous house." "Oh, uh thank you. And I assume this little guy is Peter, right?" Laura bent down and smiled at the boy sitting in Pepper's palm. "Um, hello, Mrs. Barton. It's, uh, nice to meet you." Peter blushed under the very pretty woman's gaze. "It's Laura. Any friend of Clint's is a friend of mine, especially the ones who protect the world." She had to love this boy, from his red face to his manners. If only Clint would learn from someone. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Laura. Tony and Clint talk about you a lot, so it's nice to see a face. Are your kids home?" Pepper tried to see past her into the house. "Fortunately, no. They went over to a friend's to play some kind of video game. I don't know who's worse, them or my husband." The two women shared a laugh over that. "Please, come in," Laura stepped aside and let the woman in the door. "This place is completely off anyone's map, besides the Avengers, of course. So, you're safe here." "Thank you so much. We really do appreciate you opening your home to us like this." "Like I said, any friend of Clint's is a friend of mine. And speaking of Clint, he said he was on his way home. The others told him to leave and come here." "Clint also said something about Dr. Banner coming as well." She liked the shy doctor, and thought he was a perfect match for Natasha. It was just a shame they wouldn't be able to have their own children. They could always adopt. But, she didn't know what the 'other guy' would think of children running around. "Yes, Dr. Banner will be coming here, along with Tony and Morgan. And, I think three more people." Pepper didn't have a chance to ask Scott and the other woman if they were going to join her. Laura's face fell a little. "Oh." Was all she said. She liked this house and didn't want it being blown up by some psychopath. "It's okay. Trust me, Tony would only allow someone he trusts to work on Peter." The only thing was, he had to trust this Pym guy, and she didn't know him. So, she was hoping that she didn't just lie to this woman.

Tony chose that moment to step forward, a strange look on his face. "That will not happen if I can help it," he groused. "But, you did good for your first try, kid. You even handled that sticky shit pretty well." Peter grinned and blushed. It seemed he was doing that a lot today. "Tests are over for today." Mr. Barton put Peter on his shoulder. "How about we order something in and take it outside?" He glanced at the happy face of the kid. "I'm getting a little cabin fever, and Morgan should be home by now, right?" Steve frowned. "I don't know. I'm still a little wary about bringing the kid outside, even if it's on the compound grounds." "Come on, man. We can't keep the kid locked up here like a prisoner! His aunt already thinks we do that now. Let the kid get some fresh air. We have all the soldiers on the grounds, plus we have all the weapons that were meant to shoot anything down that we say is a threat." "It's okay, Mr-I mean Uncle Clint." The man grinned. "If it's for safety reasons, we can stay inside." Peter was a little bummed out about not even being allowed on the grounds, but he understood. Somewhat. "No," Tony said said suddenly. "Bird brain is right. We all need a little relaxation, and think of all the nature that will be out there. And plus, I can't wait to see Peter here playing pretty pink princess with Morgan in the sunlight." He grinned at the boy who groaned and hid himself behind Clint's head, peeking out from behind the man's neck. Even Steve chuckled at that one. "All right. As long as we all go and we're on guard. We all know how badly Hydra wants Peter back, so be on your guard." Sam saluted the man and smirked. "Yes, sir your holiness!" That earned him a punch to the arm and Sam winced, rubbing his bicep. "Ouch, Cap." "Who's Fury?" May asked, her head cocked to the side. "The once leader of SHIELD," Happy said before anyone could answer, making everyone look to him. "What? I listen to people." "Well, he doesn't matter, since he's not hearing about Peter until he's either normal again, or if he doesn't want anything to do with any of this once that happens, then we forget about him." Tony butted in. "It's up to the kid once he's normal. But, before we can fix him, nothing is said to Fury." Peter was confused. "But why? I remember reading about SHIELD in my history class. It said they did nothing but good things, protected people, kept peace. They even helped the people of Sokovia after the Ultron incident, which is so not your fault, Mr. Stark. You were only looking for a way to keep people safe." Steve grimaced at that and sent a look towards Tony, who shrugged. "That may be true kid, but once he hears what you can do and of your predicament, he will make sure Hydra's training will get done. Not in the same style as they would have used, but it will get done nonetheless." The billionaire knew Fury wouldn't care about the kid's safety as much as he would. He wouldn't take care of the kid if he got caught in a tight place, nor would he send anyone to Peter's rescue if he got himself caught. "Fury's a...well, he's a dangerous player in a not so dangerous game. Let's just call it that." He stuck his hands in his pockets to keep from grabbing the kid off Clint's shoulder like he was itching to do. Lately when he found his hands were idle, he wanted to hold Peter. He didn't know why, but he enjoyed the feeling of the boy in his hands, knowing he was looking to the man as a...what? But, he already had Morgan, so he didn't need another kid. Right? Looking back at the small boy sitting on Clint's shoulder made a pang of jealousy ring through him. "Welcome to my world," May's voice cut through Tony's thoughts and he blinked. "Excuse me?" She laughed softly. "I see the way you look at him. He's found a way into everyone's hearts here, whether they know it or not. Which does make me feel like leaving him here would be the best thing for him for now." He looked back at the boy, love shining in her eyes. "I see the way he looks at everyone here, and especially at you." She sighed and started toying with the ring on her finger. "Peter...Peter hasn't had the best childhood." Tony's brow quirked. "Meaning?" "Meaning, he's lost a lot more than any other kid his age. His parents were killed in a plane crash while on a business trip, and his uncle Ben was shot. He died right in front of Peter." She sighed, the sound a little watery. "He hasn't had much luck when it comes to male figures to look up to. But, seeing him around so many good, kind hearted people who generally want the best for him, I can't help but be happy he's here. Even if he couldn't' call me." She gave Tony a half hearted glare. "Just, let him be himself while he's here." Her gaze then turned stee;y and she waited for everyone to pass before backing Tony into a wall, her finger pressed into his chest. "And if anything happens, and I mean anything, a scraped knee, bad dream, you call me or I will kick your ass. Do you hear me?" Tony silently nodded, licking his suddenly dry lips at the look in the woman's eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Justin Hammer smiled as he signed for his delivery, watching as his droid shells were brought in, reveling in their beauty. Crate by crate they were brought in by machinery, until a half hour later, the last one was dropped off. He waved to the men and pressed the button to close the warehouse doors. "Finally." Now he could get to work. Going to a metal crate, he used the code given to him by his new partner. The bots inside were beautifully crafted and waiting for his programming. Screw Toomes. Ever since the man had 'kicked' him off the little team he'd been planning on going behind their backs. Now, with Bloom his only employer and the only one he'd have to worry about being on his team, he had more room to work. He didn't have to worry about the feelings of some middle aged man in a bird costume. Oh, he still planned on using Toomes' family against him. Maybe he would bring him onto team Hammer, or when Justin got the job done, off the man's wife and keep the daughter for himself. He would let Adrian live, though, just to play with the man's mind in the knowledge that Justin had his Liz all because Toomes wasn't strong enough to get the job done. The thought excited him. Booting up his computers, Justin pulled out his flash drive and plugged it in. The screen flashed blue for a moment, then his logo came up and the password prompt came up. "Fuck Tony Stark," he said to the computer. A second later it beeped. "Welcome Justin." A monotone voice said. "Thank you, darling. Let's get started on programming these, shall we?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter sat in the shade of a tree, resting against the bark, eyes closed and just enjoying the breeze. He felt the rumbles as the giants moved around, but he didn't care. He was safe where he was. Suddenly, he was jolted out of his relaxation by someone flopping next to him, the wind of their body enough to practically blow him over. "Hi!" Morgan said in a chipper voice. "Mommy said lunch is here." The boy used his arm to get up and shake the debris out of his hair. The quicker he was back to normal, the better. He hated being this small, and yet he didn't. It was odd. "Okay." Peter stood up and wiped his pants when he felt the ground move and watched the girl get up, her shoes digging into the dirt to create little pits. She crouched down and offered an open hand. "Want help?" The teen smiled and shook his head. "No, I think I'm gonna go alone. Thanks though, Morgan." He gave her a soft look to let her know he wasn't mad at her. Morgan simply shrugged and got up, running over to her parents, falling into Tony's arms with a giggle. Again the jealous feeling came over Peter and he watched with a slight scowl before shaking his head. No. That part of life wasn't made for him. He wasn't allowed to have a father figure in his life for some odd reason. He was meant to be...well, not alone. He still had May.   The world around him suddenly turned black and Peter cried out when he felt gravity force him into the soft, leathery surface he was gripped in before the hand opened to reveal the worried face of Mr. Barton. "Hey there, little man. Why the long face?" Peter was still gasping for air after that shock, but he calmed down quickly in the soft gaze of the archer. "I don't have a long face," he said lowly, not meeting the man's eyes. "I was just getting ready to walk over for lunch." "Mm-hmm.....Listen, they don't call me Hawkeye for nothing, little man. So, how's about we get something and take it somewhere we can eat in private and you can talk to me." The teen was tempted to say no, because he was feeling stubborn today, but, looking back at a squeal of laughter from Morgan made his heart hurt and he nodded. "Okay. We got Thai, by the way. Your aunt said you really like Larb, so we got that for you. I know you can't eat all of it, but I'm willing to put more food in me if it means no waste." Clint chuckled and transferred Peter to his shoulder, walking quickly up to the group. "Hey, Pete?" Tony turned to see the boy on Clint's shoulder, casting a worried look to the archer, who shook his head. "We're gonna talk for a minute. You know, trade manly secrets. But, food first please. We're hungry!" Pepper smiled and handed the man two boxes, smiling softly at Peter. "Just don't spread too much testosterone around. I don't think the world can handle any more." "Will do. Let's go, Pete. Off to beat the drums around the fire and tell war stories!" May gave her nephew a soft smile as she was passed her box, blushing a bit and saying thank you. "Just be careful, okay?" Peter nodded while he laughed. Always count on 'Uncle Clint' the make him feel better. The archer walked in silence until he brought them to a shady bench, sitting and bringing a hand up for Peter to climb onto, setting him on the bench next to him. "So," he began, opening the box of Larb and making a face at the almost magotty looking contents. "Ugh, how can you eat this?" he asked, pushing it towards Peter. "Easy. Just don't think about what it looks like. Besides, I like that it doesn't have too much flavor, you know?" "Okay, I get it. So. What were you thinking about by that root?" Clint dug out his chopsticks, and placed a napkin next to Peter, who didn't have any utensils at all. The boy paused in grabbing a piece of chicken, then looked down as he transferred it to the napkin to cool down, reaching in for a grain of rice. "I wasn't thinking anything, honest." Liar. "Liar," Clint said, reading the word all over the boy's face. "I can tell you were getting upset about something, so either tell me, or I'm letting Tony know something's bothering you. You're always around him, so if you're more comfortable talking to him, I can go get him and-" "NO!" Peter yelled, startling the both of them into a moment of silence. "No," he said softer. "I can't tell him what's on my mind...it's dumb." "Kid, if you won't talk to Tony, then I'm your best bet. I know how to keep a secret." Clint smiled mischievously, making Peter doubt that. "It's just, whenever I see Mr. Stark with Morgan, and see the way his eyes light up with her, I get a little jealous. I've never had a father figure in my life...the one's I had were killed..." Peter's eyes stung as he spoke. "And I know once I'm back to normal, or as normal as I can be, that Mr. Stark is probably going to start ignoring me because I won't need anymore help to get around. And besides, he's already got his daughter. What does a kid with no blood relation have on that?" Deep down, Peter was already starting to think of the mechanic as a father figure, a protector....and he didn't want to shatter that illusion, but that's all it was. An illusion. Clint chewed for a moment, then spoke. "Kid, I doubt Tony's gonna start ignoring you. I mean, have you seen the way he looks at you? If he could, I swear he would adopt you in a heartbeat, but seeing as you already have your aunt, he doesn't want to pull your family apart. I know he's hurting because he can't send you home with May just yet, but he still offered her a place to stay if she wanted to. Tony, in a weird way, already thinks of you as a son, I think. And if you wanna test that theory, I suggest a little 'experiment'." Peter was stunned to say the least at what Mr. Barton had said, but was very intrigued by the experiment idea. "What kind of...experiment?" he asked, nerves heard in his voice. "Next time you're alone with Tony, just pretend to slip up and call him 'Dad'. See what his reaction is, and that will tell you the truth." "I dunno, Uncle Clint....it seems a little...weird, right?" Peter wasn't too sure about the plan. What if it backfired and Mr. Stark hated him for it? "Trust me, kid. It'll turn out alright. I know, I watch...like a hawk." He nudged the boy with the tip of his chopstick, almost pushing him over. "Get it?" "Yeah, yeah I get it, now get that thing away from me. You spit all over it!" "Oh, get over it," the archer laughed, but pulled it away. "Seriously, though, what do you think would happen if you accidentally called Tony that, anyway?" "He'd hate me for it." The teen said without missing a beat. Clint stared at Peter before laughing. "Dude, he could never hate you. I don't think anyone could hate you. You're too cute right now." Peter threw the grain of rice in his hands at the man with a laugh. "Shut up." "See? Even that was cute! But, do you feel better now that you talked it out with good ol' Uncle Clint?" Peter was about to say something when he stopped and thought about it. The jealous feeling he got was lifted a little and he felt lighter. "Actually...yeah, I do. Thanks Uncle Clint. I LARB you!!" "Oh God, never say that in my presence again, seriously kid. I may have to throw you out of a tree." "Already did that," the boy stated smugly as he took a bite of his chicken. "Kid, you and I are gonna have to have another talk." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I have to go now, Peter," May said, her voice cracking as tears filled her eyes. "Do you need anything before I leave? Maybe I can bring some of your books, or maybe your skateboard?" Now she was grasping at strings, almost as if she weren't allowed to come back without something for her nephew. "I'm fine, May." Peter stepped up to her and the woman lowered her hand for him to climb onto. Once he was situated, the woman rose and held Peter close to her bosom, her thumb coming to rub his back. "And you know you can come back just to visit, right? We already told you, I'm not a prisoner. If you want to see me, you can either call, or I can call you, or you can come any time." Peter looked back to see Mr. Stark nodding. "Okay. Just remember, I love you so much, Petey-pie. I'm glad you're here. Call me before bedtime and in the morning and once in the-" "May!" Peter laughed, hugging the woman's thumb. "If i call you that many times, you'll get sick of me. I'll call you before bed, okay? I love you so much. Have a safe drive, and we'll keep you updated on what's going on." May nodded and sniffled, bringing Peter's diminutive form to her chest in a hug, cupping the boy in her hands. "I love you too, Peter. Always." She then dropped a kiss to the top of his head, half of his face disappearing when she did. May turned to Tony and was about to hand him the teen, when Pepper stepped up and put her hand out for him. "We'll take good care of him," she promised the woman with a smile. "Thank you. For everything you're doing and have done." She looked to Peter, who was climbing onto the blonde woman's hand. "Remember to eat your vegetables every day, and change your underwear twice a day, okay?" "May!" Peter cried, blushing as the people around them snickered. "Okay, okay. Bye, Peter....." The woman wiped her eyes and walked out, Happy volunteering to walk her out. Peter watched her go with a sad face, his lower lip quivering. "This is for the best," Pepper told him, bringing him closer to her. "You'll see her again. And now you'll be able to call her, and when you're back to normal, you'll get to go home." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tony make a face. It was only for a second before he covered it up by picking up Morgan. "We gotta call it an early night," Clint said sadly. "We gotta go somewhere tomorrow and I don't know when we'll be back. So, we'll see you later, little man." He held up his pointer to Peter and smiled when he felt the kid smack it in a high five. "Be good, man." Peter smiled as most of the group left the room, leaving him, Pepper, Tony and Morgan alone. "So, who wants to watch a movie?" The man bounced Morgan on his hip. "How about you, little lady?" "Yes!" she shouted, giggling as her father made a face at her loudness. "Brave?" "Good choice. I always think the dad is like me in that." He grinned and started walking, but not before grabbing Pepper's hand and dragging her along. They got the movie set up and in minutes, both the children were out like a light. Peter was sleeping on Pepper's shoulder, his body curled up into her neck for warmth, and Morgan was stretched out over both of them. Both the adults looked to one another with loving smiles. "We need to have Peter here once he's back to normal," Pepper whispered. "I think I'll ask May if maybe he can spend the summers at the cabin. What do you think?" That got Tony to smile and nod. He liked that idea. He liked that idea a lot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "You've gotta be kidding me," Hammer said, clapping his hands once and laughing. Almost all the Avengers would out of the compound the next few days, meaning the target would be even less protected. "Oh, Tony...you've got a lot of nerve thinking you could hide him from me for long." He smiled as he programmed more of the code he was writing. He wished he still had Ivan to write the code for him, but he was out of the picture, even for his employer. So that meant he just had to bite the bullet and do it himself. Which he didn't mind, he was just used to having people do this for him. But, that wasn't the problem. The problem was getting into the compound before Toomes, if the man even knew. He enjoyed a challenge. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The computer was beeping as Bruce walked into his lab that night. He walked over to it and looked at the screen. He almost dropped his cup of coffee on his lap. Hank Pym had actually contacted him! He'd seen the encrypted message and wanted to know what was going on with Peter. The doctor clicked on the link and was brought to a video chat where Dr. Pym was sitting behind a large desk, white hair slicked back. "Hello, Dr. Banner," he said with a nod. "Dr. Pym, I am so happy to hear from you. I assume you got the message?" The white haired man nodded."What I would like to know, is how much you know about the serum?" Bruce sighed. "Almost nothing," he replied truthfully. "This Sean guy Peter has mentioned is a genius, I'll tell you that. The fact that he had your particles, but also could hide their structure and data even when having the serum in front of you, which I don't understand. I'm stumped, but then again, it is your research. I wouldn't dream of looking too into it without your say-so. My name isn't Tony Stark." The man smirked. "That's the only reason I decided to contact you, Dr. Banner." "Thank you again, for that. Is there somewhere I can send you the data-though it's not much-on the serum I've got?" Pym shook his head. "No. I'll need to see the boy, see what they did to him, see if it is possible to reverse what Sean did." The man then turned as if hearing something. "I have to go. Expect me there about....I'd say, a two weeks." "That long?" Banner said with a forlorn expression. "Well, I do have other obligations," the man said with a chuckle. "Plus, I'll have to have Scott go into the Quantum Realm to collect some healing particles from inside, and that takes time to prepare for." Bruce's eyes widened. "You did it? In that case, It will be a privilege to meet you, Dr. Pym. Can't wait to meet with you." "Don't expect it to happen often. The Stark's and I don't get along." And with that, the man hung up, the screen going dark. "What a shock," Bruce said to himself as he got up to go back to his work on the serum. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Adrian Toomes sat at his work bench, carefully soldering wires together when something caught his eye. He stopped what he was doing and spotted one of his daughter's field trip slips he forgot to sign. Tears came to his eyes as he grabbed the paper and unfolded it. It was for today. But instead of going upstate, she was stuck who knows where probably scared out of her mind crying for him. His eyes went wide as he read where the trip was for. The Avengers Compound. "Phineas!" he called into the large warehouse. Seconds later he heard something fall over, then footsteps running over to where Adrian was. "Boss? What's wrong?" "Nothing...I just need to know, is my suit fixed?" Phineas turned his head quick to look back at the direction where he came from. "Um, I think so, but there's a few bugs I haven't been able to sort out yet since it was damaged. I'd like to make it a touch stronger so that you can survive the kind of attack Justin brought you to." At that name Adrian scowled. "Yeah, well he knows where he stands since that shit show of a disaster." Then he looked to the permission slip. "What about anything to help with a silent mission? You know, sneaking into a building and taking something." "Well, yeah I do have some things for that, but it all depends on what building you're going into. Like the white house, I can't do." "No, not the white house. I was thinking of the Avengers Compound." Phineas' eyes got bigger. "No, no way, Adrian. I helped you once and you failed, almost getting yourself killed. I won't let you put yourself in that kind of danger again." Adrian put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled an actual smile at him. Phineas wasn't like his other associates. He was more of a keep to the background kinda guy, which is what he needed right now. "I'm not asking you to send me anywhere. I'll be sending myself. I'm just gonna need you to hack into Tony Stark's data and create a personnel file for me, that's all." Phineas laughed. "That's all? If I could do that, don't you think I would have done it already, Adrian?" He would have done it for himself so he could get in there and see what Tony had cooking in that lab of his. "Well, I need you to be able to do it by tonight. Find any way in, any way, and get that file created. Please...for Lizzy's sake. This is my only chance to get my family back." Phineas stared into Adrian's pleading eyes for a long moment before sighing. "I'll see what I can do. I'm also going to create a remote for your suit so you can call it to you from where you are. Only if things get bad, okay?" Adrian nodded and squeezed his friend's shoulder before turning away, letting the programmer go and tinker away.

Swiping his key card, Toomes was able to gain access to the experimental labs in the compound. He had spent most of his time searching for any sign of the boy Hydra wanted, but there was nothing. Getting annoyed, he slammed out of the last lab, his fist hitting the wall of the empty hall. How hard was it to find a tiny person!? It was then a voice made the man's back go rigid. It sounded like a tour guide. His daughter's class! True, while none of the kids had seen Adrian before, he knew he had to be stealthy. He was about to start walking the other way, but another voice joined the guide and the man cursed his luck. Tony freaking Stark was walking up to the class with a kid at his side, an arm looped around his chunky shoulders as the boy looked at him in wonder. Tony Stark didn't deserve the adoration! He had driven Toomes to the life he was living, the situation he was in right now!  He deserved to be punished, torn down from that pedestal he'd built himself! Movement came from Stark's pocket and Adrian had to take a double look as a tiny brown haired head popped out. It was for a second, but he definitely saw it. That was the kid he was looking for. Adrian knelt down, pretending to tie his shoe while the class was stopped, Stark talking to them in that pompous voice he used to bolster the unwitting. It would never fool him. When Stark moved away from the group, Toomes rose and followed quickly. He got a few paces ahead of the man, and suddenly his briefcase opened, spilling papers all over the floor in front of the 'hero'. "Oh, oh man I am so sorry! Mr. Stark, please let me clean all this up." Adrian made a show of gathering the papers into the case. "My wife has been asking me to get this fixed for weeks now, it just pops open whenever it wants, like it has a mind of its own." Stark had knelt down to help him, smiling at the anecdote. "I know wives," he said in a somewhat rushed tone. Adrian used the pen case opening to bring himself closer to the man. Slowly, he reached out until his fingers came in contact with the pocket. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter was wondering what was going on when he felt the movement of heading down and jerking to a stop. He felt the man's subtle movements, but also heard a voice right outside the pocket. He stayed perfectly still. But, he wasn't expecting the giant hand suddenly filling his vision. It wasn't Mr. Stark's hand, and that scared him. But, before he could shout, the fingers wrapped around him, almost crushing the teen in a vice-like grip and drawing him out into the open. He was thrown unceremoniously onto paper and trapped in darkness in seconds, too fast for Mr. Stark to see. ] He stood and was knocked off his feet by the movement of whatever he was in. "Mr. Stark!" he called as he was bounced on the hard bottom of what he assumed to be a briefcase, if the pens around him were any clue. "Mr. Stark! Please!" He banged his fists, but with the soft cushioning, he knew he wouldn't be making much noise. His heart was beating too fast, and he was scared and being bounced around his mind just reacted, making him shout: "DAD!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two men shook hands as they parted with a light laugh and Adrian felt his heart going a mile a minute. He did it. He had gotten the person who would help him get his family back. He walked quickly to the front doors, nodding to people as he went. Just a few more feet....come on.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "You're being very quiet," Tony said to Peter as he boarded the elevator. Reaching into his pocket, he thought to give the kid some air in the privacy, but his hand only came in contact with air. "Pete?" he called sternly. "Now is not the time to be playing games. Come on, Peter." He patted his jacket and pockets down, but there was no Peter. Had he fallen out of his pocket? "Friday, bring me back down!" he snapped. He couldn't wait for the doors to open, his hands already pushing them apart as he ran out of the doors. "PETER!?" Tony called, not caring if he looked like an idiot. "Friday, give me video of the past ten minutes!" Stark had started shaking, breathing heavily as he ran his hands through his hair. "Here they are boss," the AI said form his phone. Tony pulled out his phone and ran through all the footage, stopping when he saw the man who dropped the papers. He had gotten closer to Tony, but the man watched his hand as it reached into Stark's pocket and withdrew...he zoomed in. A very scared looking Peter and threw the boy into his briefcase before slamming it shut. Thoughts ran through the billionaire's head as he turned, looking left and right in a panic, people staring at him with worry and concern. Where did he go...THERE! "Friday! Put the building on lock down!" He said it too late, seeing the thief get through the doors jut as the AI did as he ordered. That man had his boy. That man was going to pay. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Adrian heard a shout and he felt his heart stop. Clutching the briefcase handle, Toomes practically ran to the exit and was able to get out just as Stark's AI issued a lock-down of the building. Getting his remote out, the man hit the 'call' button as he ran, watching the blinking light on the small device. Behind him he heard shouting and feet pounding as the guards chased after him. Seconds later, his wing suit came flying over the trees and he jumped up to grab onto it, the metal vest opening to allow him to climb into it. Strapping himself in, he hit the boosters, but apparently not fast enough, because in his way was a very pissed off Iron Man. "Give me back my Peter," Stark said in a threatening voice, made colder by the robotic inlay of the helmet. "Sorry, Stark, but I can't do that! You see, if I give this kid back to Hydra, I get my family back, and I can't risk their lives over your little pet. Now, stand down, tell your men to lower their weapons," he brought the briefcase up to his chest and pointed one of his latest weapons at it. "Or this little freak gets nice and toasty." He started up the gun, knowing Stark heard the high pitched whine. "And what makes you think I can't stop you before you pull the trigger?" "Because I know you'd never harm this boy. You've become his protector, his 'savior', although I have no clue why." Toomes was getting angry, and this wasn't the time or the place for it. "Now, stand down, or else." He powered up the gun even more and glanced at what it was at. He knew at this temperature, he could probably melt Stark Tower if it still existed. Iron Man sighed and held his hands up, only to lower them. "This isn't the end," he challenged. "No. It's my beginning." With that, Toomes was soaring high, the gun still pressed against the briefcase if anyone tried anything. He didn't notice, however, the small nano-tracker Stark had let loose as he was flying away to catch the inside of his pant hem. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter curled into a ball inside the briefcase as he heard the wind whistling over it. Why would Mr. Stark give up that easily? He didn't understand, he only knew he was going to be sent back to the people who tried to kill him in the first place and he was petrified. He let out a yelp as his prison was suddenly set down, causing him to roll to his side as pens the size of him crashed into the boy. The floor of his container started rumbling, the vibrations going through him. Was he in a vehicle of some kind? A jerking movement told him the answer, so he simply let his senses do they're thing. He could hear every gear in the engine, but he didn't want that. He needed information, but he hadn't tried listening to one particular thing. He'd only heard a jumble whenever he tried. But, he needed information. Focusing he singled out a man's voice above the engine and the grinding gears. "You did a good job with that fake badge, Phineas. Thank you, for helping me get my family back. All we have to do is deliver the item to Hammer and we're good." "I'm glad. I miss Lizzy and Dorris. Especially her cooking," a stranger said with the sound of licking his lips. The first voice chuckled. "Well, when she hears what you did to get her and my daughter back safe, I'm sure she'll invite you to dinner for a year." Silence fell over the car, until someone kicked the briefcase and Peter shouted, hitting his head against the inside. "Careful!" Peter felt gravity push him down and vertigo made his stomach lurch. He was getting sick of this, literally. The case was placed broad side down on what seemed like someone's lap if the beating of someone's heart was the tell. Peter wanted to know what was going on. Where were they going? How long was he going to be kept in the dark? He moved and felt something brush against his wrists. His webshooters! He had no idea how he had forgotten about them. With the creation of his formula, he had them on at all times, just in case he had to get somewhere quickly without help, or someone accidentally dropped him, then he could latch on to the person's clothing. Adjusting them, he waited in the dark for the first sign of light. Then, he was out of there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "It's okay, Tony. It's okay. We'll get him back." Bruce had been saying the same thing over and over to the man who was literally staring at the wall, gaze hardened in anger as he thought. "Tony, you need to stop beating yourself up and start tracking the guy who took Peter." The steel like gaze fell on the scientist. "You don't think I know this? I am tracking him, this very moment, but I can't go after him while he's moving with Peter. He held up some kind of, glowing gun to the briefcase, Bruce. If I had done something, even twitched a finger, Peter would be gone and I would be down a kid!" Tony didn't care about the slip up. He was worried and pissed that he'd put the boy in danger. He shouldn't have listened and made Peter stay with Bruce, make the scientist go up to the common room or something. And what a great time for the team to be on a mission! "Tony, nothing will come of you getting angry at me. Just take a breath." "Screw your breathing, Banner! If I wanted to learn how to breathe, I would go to Yoga classes! I just want my kid back!" He started pacing back and forth, eyes on the screen that held the moving red dot. They were getting farther and farther away, and yet he was there just watching the men do it. He wanted to rage at someone. He wanted to go and kill those sons of bitches. But, he had to keep watching the screen until it stopped. And it would stop. And they would get Peter back. And he would get his pound of flesh. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter must have fallen asleep, because he was startled when the vehicle stopped and cried out when he was suddenly flipped back to the bottom of the case. Why couldn't these guys be more careful? "Do you think I could take a look," said the driver from the car. "Yeah. Just be careful. I have no clue what they did to it, but I know it's strong." Strong? Oh, Peter was going to show them strong, and smart. It was dark for a moment longer, but once the light peeked its way through, the boy fell into a crouch, one leg stretched out as a hand kept him balanced. Wait for it....A giant bearded face suddenly appeared and stared at Peter like he was an animal in a zoo. "Oh my," he said, his breath enough to knock the kid out. "You know, it's kind of cute. Hey, little guy!" He waved at the boy, smiling brighter when he got a smile and a wave back. The smile disappeared, however, when Phineas found his glasses covered in a white sticky substance. He cried out and fell back, trying to get the substance away from his eyes. Peter took his chance and curled his legs, feeling his muscles bunch under him and he jumped as hard as he could. From the corner of his eye, he caught the enraged yet fascinated face of his captor and another man. He hadn't heard the third man in the car. He had another pair of hands to stay away from, which made his escape harder. Looking around the warehouse, he spotted a beam and aimed his hand at it. Still not good with the activator, he almost knocked himself off course with the kickback, but he still caught it and swung to another beam while the giants below him struggled to coordinate. "Catch him!" His captor roared, running to a suit. As soon as he started it up, green eyes lighting up the darkness of the van. Peter almost froze in that gaze, the gaze from his nightmares, but he forced himself to move. A breeze washed over him and the teen looked up to see a large open skylight. He shot another web and launched himself out of the warehouse into the light of the afternoon. The sun was blinding after spending all morning sitting in the dark, but Peter wouldn't let that stop him. He landed on the roof and looked around at the junkyard around him. There were a million places to hide, but the question was could he get to one in time? A large noise almost made him fall over as he ran for the shadows of the building's vent system, pressing his back to the overly warm surface. It was times like this he wished he still had the darker Thor costume. "Do you see him?!" his captor said, startling Peter. That was the first time they had noted he was alive. "No...I'm so sorry, Adrian....I didn't know that he had a weapon." Peter stuck where he was as the breeze from the suit as it lowered tried to push him from hiding, but the boy gripped the concrete harder. "Well, get out there and look for him! I'll take the air. Remember, he's freaking tiny!" Suddenly the wind was back with a vengeance and Peter cried out as the rough surface tore at his fingers, trying to make him let go. And, just like that, it was gone and he watched the man disappear. The boy took that moment to run to the edge of the building and looked down at the ground that looked so far away. "Okay, Peter, you've got this. It's just like in the gym." Only there was no Mr. Stark waiting to catch him in a hand if things went bad. NO! He couldn't think like that. Everything was going to be fine, he would get away, and somehow, find a way to contact someone. Peter took a moment to see if he knew where he was. It was somewhere somewhat secluded, that was for sure, but if he focused he could hear the sounds of the city. The only problem was he couldn't tell how far away it was, and with the piles of cars and metal, he couldn't tell where he was. He would have to make it to the top of one to look around. With a nod he got on all fours and started scaling the building head first, which was scary to say the least. He froze when the blonde man from before came out. Another man, more intimidating, followed. Peter had to move soon, because the concrete of the building was hot in the afternoon sun and it was starting to burn his fingertips and feet. "Man, you're smart, but stupid at the same time. How does Adrian expect us to find a kid this big?" He held his fingers millimeters apart. "In a hurry," the blonde replied. "Go check the roof, I saw him go out that way." Shit! That sent the teen scurrying quickly down the hot surface, wishing there were shadows. He reached a ginormous open space and had to scale the building sideways in order to make his way around it. Peter saw his chance when the blonde man walked away and made his way down the side, scurrying as fast as he could before reaching the ground. In a panic, he looked left and right and chose to go left, because his senses told him going right was a big mistake. Apparently going right was a mistake, too, because not soon after he started running, he heard the man from the roof scream. "Phineas! There!" "You guys don't play fair!" The boy muttered. "It's no fun to gang up on a little person!" Peter shot another web onto the building and used the momentum to swing himself away from the thundering footsteps of Phineas running to catch him. In front of him was a very giant tower of junk, just what he needed. He made his way towards it. He veered to the left as he felt his neck tingle, and a giant hand tried to snatch him out of the air. "Thank you spidey tingle!" he shouted. Peter landed on a particularly hot piece of metal and yelp, shaking a foot with every step he took as he ran up the pile. "That's so hot!" Finally he found a shadow covered little nook and dove in, panting and fanning his red feet. His senses were quiet as rested, but he knew he couldn't stay there. In his bright outfit, he would be spotted no matter where in the shadows he went. He chanced a look outside the little cranny he had crammed himself into and saw a Phineas pass him and waited until the man disappeared around the pile. He knew he had to get out of the yard, but it was a risky move, but he was smart and nearly invisible. He knew he could't get to the ground, because he was too easy to pick up or get stepped on. So, he had to use the junk piles. Peter stayed as close to the pile he was in as he could as he exited his hiding spot, trying not to be weirded out by the pipe he had to climb over the was the size of a man's arm. "Crap," he had to jump into another nook as two of his captors met right beneath the boy.. "Have you found him yet?" the other man asked with a snap. "Not yet. I..I think he's gone," Phineas answered softly. Peter relaxed in his hidey hole. So they hadn't known what direction he could have gone in. That was good. He could hide in here for the remainder of the day and wait for- "He better not be!" the voice of Peter's captor, Adrian said from above, the sound echoing through the forest of metal. "Look harder!" Or he had to get out of there now. Peter gulped and looked around for a way to get away from the three giants, but there was no escape that he could take. If he moved in the junk pile, his outfit would give him away, the same thing with the ground and the air. He was stuck. Unless. He looked behind him and noticed there was a small sliver of light. He got up and jogged to it, finding an opening barely big enough for him to slip through. Taking a deep breath, he shimmied through the opening, gritting his teeth as he felt his side being cut open by the sharp edges. "Oh man. I really hope I had my tetanus.." Holding his wound, he made his way out of the opening, back pressed against the metal pile as Adrian flew overhead, those terrifying green eyes searching for Peter. He wished someone was there to help him. But, he was alone. Which, gave him the chance to prove himself to Mr. Stark and the others. But, he was still a kid in the end run. Well, it was time to grow up. With a grunt, he shot a web at the junk tower closest to him and began to swing through the junk. As he did, he realized that this would have been a great place for him to pick up wires and things for the projects he was doing before he was captured. Maybe he would come back, if this Toomes guy was caught. When Adrian passed, Peter let his webs fly. He had to admit, he was getting better at this. His arms didn't even hurt from controlling the kickback anymore. He had to hide a few more times, each one getting more and more dangerous as his captors became even more irritated that they couldn't find him. By that time it was getting darker, which was not a good thing for Peter. He swung to the last pile and chanced a climb to the top to peek and see where he was. Instantly he knew where he was, seeing the street sign of Houston blaring right in front of his eyes. He wasn't too far away from Bleecker street, which in turn meant civilization and maybe some help. Hopefully whoever he went to didn't think he was some radioactive mouse. Bunching the muscles in his legs, Peter made sure he wasn't in anyone's shadow before jumping to the street sign, slamming into it with a small 'plink'. "Ouch," he grumbled and climbed up to the top. Now, the whole thing was getting to where he needed to go without being spotted by one of the cats roaming the area. "Great."

"Hey!" Nat's voice came over the com as Clint made his way down the highway on his bike, wind rushing through his hair. "How about a little company?" The roar of another bike made the archer look to his side and he smiled. "Hey, what took you so long?" "Oh, you know, my hair was a mess and I couldn't find anything to wear." She pulled up to the side of her friend and smiled, revving her engine. "You didn't have to follow me," Clint said, turning around a bend. "I would have been fine on my own." "Oh, I know. But I haven't seen my niece and nephews in so long, so I thought it was time." Clint gave her a side smirk. "Don't use my kids as an excuse. You're just worried about Peter, just like the rest of us. Come on, I know you." The woman snorted. "Look, just because he hasn't done anything doesn't mean he won't. I still don't trust him fully." Until he was out of the facility and away from Tony's work. "Yeah, yeah, tell me another one. Just, don't be too hard on the kid, okay? I'm sure he feels like this whole thing is his fault." When he had talked with him the other day, he'd gotten to know him, taking subtle hints from the way he acted, so he could take a knowing guess to how the boy was feeling. "I'm not blaming him for anything. I just don't trust him, that's all." And she hadn't since the day he was brought to the compound. The archer stayed silent after that, just letting the wind blow over his helmet. He heard a strange noise and looked up to see a private plane go overhead heading straight for his home. Being that his area was a no fly zone, he got nervous and picked up the speed, Natasha on his heels as they rounded the last bend before they veered off a dirt road that led to his home. He had to get there soon and make sure Laura was all right. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How long would it take to blast a freaking hole in a building!? Hammer was loosing his patience. "Come on guys, let's make it efficient here!" he complained from the car window, watching as droid after droid crashed into the Avengers facility. And every time, when the smoke cleared, there wasn't even a dent in polished white outside. "Dammit!" he pounded the inside of the car. "Please calm down, Mr. Hammer," Mr. Ward's tone of voice was bored. "You've obviously underestimated Mr. Stark's defenses." "Never tell me that again!" Justin seethed. "I am superior to Tony Stark in every way!" Ward held up his hands in a placating manner. "Okay, just calm down and gather your bots. There has to be a weak spot. A way in." "I can't scan the building for anything because of the fucking AI Stark built! It has ti have a weakness!" He hit the seat again and again like a child who didn't get his way. "Hammer," Ward said in a dangerously calm voice. "I will not listen to your screaming like a petulant child." Justin took a moment to calm himself, taking a deep breath. "I apologize. I'm not used to loosing so easily." "Everyone loses at one time or another in their lives." Ward raised an eyebrow as if to enunciate his point. "Yes...I suppose they do." Justin tapped his small tablet. "And I know when I'm beat, and-" he was cut off by his phone ringing. Confused, he answered the unknown number. "Hammer here." "I know where the kid will be," Toomes' voice rang from the other end. "I know where they're going. Phineas is tracking the car the boy's mother is in as we speak." "And how are you doing this?" Justin was very cautious with this, being as Toomes had shunted him in the past. And he didn't like being two timed. "How do I know I can trust you right now?" Sure he had Toomes' family, but he had to know that the man wasn't leading him into a trap. "Herman put a locator onto the woman's clothing that was built by Phineas. They're heading towards where the boy is now, I know it." Toomes didn't sound like he liked asking for help very much, which delighted Justin immensely. "Okay, I'll bite. Send me the coordinates of the tracker. I'll go quietly this time to make sure I get the item." He gave Ward a thumbs up who nodded and got on the phone himself. "I'll tell you where your family is after I have the kid." With that he hung up and a second later, his phone rang and he pulled up a mini-map of the area where the locator was headed. "Perfect." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Placed on the arm of the couch, Peter was left there while Pepper went over to where Laura was already chopping up greens for a salad. "Is there anything I can do to help?" "How are you at making burgers?" Laura pointed to a large bowl full of ground beef. "I can do that." Pepper made sure Peter was still on the couch and set to forming the patties. In the meantime, the small boy felt useless as he stood watching from the couch. He'd never really voiced his opinion about not being able to help, but this was his mess too. It all happened because of him, so he at least wanted to help make dinner. Slowly making his way to the edge of the couch, he used his sticky abilities to get himself to the floor, grateful the couch was low. Once he was on the wooden boards, he started running over to the counter, wincing when his gait had pulled the wound on his side. He stared up at the adults towering at least eighty feet over him, knowing full well that they didn't know about him being on the floor, so he had to be careful around them. "Pepper!?" he shouted, standing close to the woman's shoe, keeping an eye on its movements. "Pepper!?" he shouted again and the woman glanced up, her line of vision going to the couch and she automatically stopped what she was doing. "Peter?" she called and looked down at the floor around them, stopping when she spotted him. "Oh my god! Peter, you know you shouldn't be on the floor! What if I had hurt you?" She crouched down and went to grab him, but her hands were full of meat. "Up here, now," she ordered in a serious tone. "I'm sorry," Peter grunted as he started to climb the up the counter, glad they were polished wood, because he would have had so many splinters by the time he reached the top. "I just wanted to help, and I knew you wouldn't be able to hear me from the couch, so I came to you." He stood by the half full bowl of ground beef, the top of his head not even coming to half the height of said bowl. Laura smiled at the picture the two made. Yeah, it was a little weird to have a boy the size of a mouse standing on her counter, but at the same time she found him endearing. "You know what," she said before Pepper could speak. "I know something you can do. Just give me a second." She nodded at the woman who frowned at her and walked from the room to give them a minute. The blonde waited until they were alone before she started berating the teen. "Peter, you know how dangerous it is for you right now. What if you had gotten hurt? Or worse?" She shook her head, a disappointed look on her face. "I heard you'd made a promise to Tony that if you needed help with anything you would ask. Why didn't you ask for help getting here?" The teen scowled at the counter top, his fists curling halfway. "Because all I do is make things worse! I want to help make something nice at least." He couldn't look up at her face with the guilt of knowing that he couldn't do anything. "Peter, that is not true. Nothing is your fault." Pepper leaned down to look at him at his level, which had the boy looking straight at her. "You are a victim of unfortunate circumstances that made you this way." She gave him a small smile. "And if you hadn't come into our lives to shake things up, we'd just be boring anyway." The teen let out a small laugh at that, then the discussion stopped when Laura sauntered back into the kitchen. "Here you go." She handed the small boy something, smiling knowingly at Pepper. "It doesn't hurt to have a man around the house who knows his way around some tools. And has glue and tape on hand." Peter smiled brightly when he saw the box cutting blade sticking out of the green handle like a pieces that were taped together. "You can help chop." She placed the peppers she'd already sliced up in front of the boy in a large pile. Still smiling, Peter grabbed one of the slices that were as tall as he was and started making little cubes. The 'knife' was too big for him to hold in one hand, so he had to use both, but he was glad to be helping. Next to him, Pepper placed down the burger patties until there were only scraps of meat in the bowl and started shaping little hamburgers for Peter. It was then her bracelets lit up and Tony's voice came from the small speaker. "Pep? You there?" "Tony! Oh god, I was so worried about you! Are you all right?" Pepper immediately put the knife down. "Friday, transfer to a video source. You don't mind, do you, Laura?" The brown haired woman shook her head, watching Peter to make sure he didn't hurt himself.A second later the television in the family room lit up and Tony's smiling face took up the screen. "Hey Pepper. Long time no see." "Yes, you jerk. Where are you?" "Actually, I'm on my way to the farm...with a couple of surprise visitors." The screen suddenly shifted and a smiling Morgan was seen sitting the back of the car, playing a hand game with Bruce. "I hope they're not too much of an opposition." Laura smiled. "It'll be a regular party here. Just let me know when you're in the state ad I'll have something for dinner waiting." "No, don't worry about it. I'll have some delivered." Tony really felt bad about putting all this on the woman and wanted to make up for it. He couldn't do much, but there was so much money could buy. "Mr. Stark?" Peter called, gripping the knife close to him, pressing it against his chest. "I am so sorry about this...I know it wasn't my fault, but I still feel like it is, and I put your family in danger...and I'm sorry." Tony sighed and the women heard Happy snort in the background. "Pete, this is not your fault, really. Unfortunately my company hired idiots for guards. But, I'm not mad, I promise. I'm just thankful you're safe." Morgan chose that moment to look into the screen. "Peter? Is that you?" "Hi, Morgan," the tiny teen said with a shy little wave. "Don't you worry about anymore bad guys coming to steal you away form us! We're a family full of bad-asses!" the girl said proudly. "Morgan!" Pepper gasped. "Where did you hear that?" She scowled at her husband who looked a little too sheepish. "Remember what daddy said about adult words, Morgan? Seriously, she's like a little sponge! But, we'll be there by the morning. Keep the grill hot for us." He smiled and the screen went blank. "That man, I swear.." Pepper sighed with a smile, turning to the sink to wash her hands. "Keep chopping, Peter. We're gonna have a lot of people to feed." At that moment, they heard what sounded like a plane coming in for a landing, skidding on the pavement of the long driveway. Laura wiped her hands on a towel and peeked out the window to see a white haired man getting out alone. "Is he a friend?" she asked Pepper who came up behind her. "Oh my goodness.....that's Hank Pym." "Seriously? The guy who can fix me!?" Peter sounded too excited as he ran to the end of the counter, trying to figure out a way to see out the window, but it was way too far to jump it. "Calm down, Peter. We don't know if he can fix you right now." Pepper didn't like saying those words, but she didn't want Peter to feel horrible if they found out his situation was permanent. Of course, if that was the case, she would definitely talk to May Parker about adopting the teen, letting him live with them full time. So, in a way, as horrible as it was, she hoped Pym wasn't able to fix the boy, but for his sake, she hoped the man could. They watched the white haired man walk down the driveway and he started up the steps when Laura shook herself out of her daze. "I guess I better go invite him in," she said, awe in her voice. Never would she have guessed that the infamous Dr. Hank Pym would be coming up to her door, or that she would have met the great Tony Stark so many years ago...but this was all happening in her life, and she couldn't be more grateful. The woman got to the door just as Dr. Pym was about to knock, his hand in the air when she threw the door open. "Welcome, Dr. Pym!" God, she sounded like a starstruck teenager. "Why don't you come in? I'm sure your travels must have been so tiring." She stepped back and allowed the man to walk through the front door, closing it behind him. "Thank you, Ms....?" "Oh, it's Mrs. Mrs. Barton, but you can call me Laura." "Ah, well it's nice to meet you, Laura. And Pepper, always a pleasure to see you." He started walking towards the woman when something caught his eye and he stopped. "My god..." Hank had never seen anything like the boy standing on the table, holding a blade that was small, but obviously too big for him. For decades he'd been trying to do what he thought was impossible, but here was the proof right before his eyes. Scott had done what he couldn't, and now the man was gone, as well as his research. The only living thing left of him in this world, was this tiny miracle. "Hello there," he whispered, afraid to say anything too loud just in case this boy's hearing was too acute to bigger sounds. "Hello," the tiny teen said back, nervously switching from foot to foot, clutching his knife to his chest, almost as if it were a barrier. "I'm Peter Parker." "It's nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Hank Pym." Slowly, he brought his pinky finger out to shake the teen's hand, a wondrous expression on his face when Peter grabbed his finger. Instantly he felt the dash sized digits sticking to his skin and had to cock his head in confusion. "You stuck to me," he whispered, wanting to get every bit of information from this experience. "Oh...sorry about that. I tend to do that when I'm nervous, and then I talk way too much. Mr. Stark calls it my 'nervous babble', which I know is his way of saying he notices, so I'm cool with how he words it..and I now noticed I'm doing it again." Peter blushed and looked down, his fingers still gripping the man's pinky. "It's okay, Peter. There's nothing to be nervous about." He tended to stay away from children, besides his own and Scott, but this boy seemed to pull Hank in to his demeanor. Made him want to protect him. It was astonishing. "Dr. Pym," Pepper said, getting the man's attention. "I was wondering if maybe I can talk to you?" The man nodded and pulled his hand away, but stopped when he realized Peter was still stuck to his hand. "How is he doing that?" "That's what I wanted to talk to you about," the woman stated. "Peter, it's okay. We'll be right back, okay?" "Right, sorry, sorry." Peter took a deep breath and the man felt the boy physically pull away from his skin. It was absolutely amazing. "Don't worry about us, we'll keep busy, right Peter?" Laura smiled at the boy who nodded and went back to chopping. Hank was unable to take his eyes off the small teen until they turned the corner. "Dr. Pym, Peter is...well, he's a special case, I guess you can say. Tony or Bruce would be able to explain it better, but I'm here right now, so I'll have to do. When this happened to Peter, apparently Hydra injected him with what Bruce explained to be...radioactive spider venom or DNA, I don't remember all the specifics. But, when they did that, Peter..changed. He went from being a normal, every day boy to someone with abilities." She rubbed her temple, strain on her face. "Just, know that he'll ask if you can fix that, too, so he can go back to his normal life. But, Bruce told us all that it would be impossible without killing Peter. And I don't want that." She lowered her hands. The thought of Peter in any danger was enough to make her want to collapse. "No, I don't want him hurt, or dead." "So you love him." Hank kept his face neutral, his tone was straight to the point and Pepper had to laugh as she nodded her head. "Yes....yes, and yes," she affirmed. "I love that boy like he's my own...he's only been around two months, and I would do anything to keep him safe. He's a member of the family, and if he didn't already have his aunt, I would adopt him no matter what Tony said. But, I'm sure he would agree in a heartbeat. He feels the same way about Peter, if not stronger. Morgan even loves him. It's impossible not to." Pym smiled softly. "I understand, Pepper. But, this information of his DNA being restructured, does complicate things everything. I'll have to get a blood sample, run some DNA diagnostics on him, and test his abilities, all before we can talk about getting him fixed, if that's even possible. Sean's work was all in the files he destroyed, so the only thing I have would be Peter." He felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach at the thought of his friend, but he shook it away. This was no time to be sentimental. "Please know, that I will do everything possible to fix your son-Peter. To fix Peter. But, it will be dangerous, especially if we don't have any of the files that Sean had." Pepper nodded, but her face relayed her fright. "I understand, Hank. Thank you." He simply nodded and walked back into the room to see Peter again.

"Anyone home?" Clint walked through the door, head turning left and right until he came into the living room. His wife was sitting with a strange man and Pepper on the couches. "Honey, who's this?" Laura turned to him and her face lit up. "This is Hank Pym. Hank, this is my husband. You may know him as-" "Hawkeye," Pym said with a nod. "Yes, I've heard of you from Dr. Selvig. He actually talks very...let's say highly of you."The archer smirked as the two shook hands. "Well it's a good thing that the old man hasn't forgotten who I am, you know after surviving Loki together." "Yes, well, let's hope he never has to 'survive' another Loki again. His mind can't take it." They parted, each taking their respective seats, though Clint stayed close to his wife. "I checked the perimeter and it looks like we're safe for now." Natasha walked in, casting a threatening look at Dr. Pym. "Where's Peter?" "Over here," Pym said, motioning to the coffee table where the boy sat, almost unnoticeable. His outfit was ripped in places, leaving healing wounds visible and he was fiddling with his wrist bands. "Looks like he'll need a new outfit," the hit woman observed. "What happened, by the way?" Peter looked up. "I was taken.... But, I knew that man." His voice was so low everyone had to move closer just to hear him. "His name is Adrian Toomes. He's the father of one of the girl's in my school, her name is Liz. She's really pretty, smart, head of the yearbook committee." "You like her," Clint had a knowing smile on his face. "What!?" the boy shouted, his face turning red. "N-no I don't! Stop being ridiculous uncle Clint." He looked away, pouting. "Uncle Clint?" Laura asked. "Since when did this happen?" She didn't mind it at all, but she knew the look on Peter's face, and he needed the subject to be changed. Luckily, Clint knew what she was doing."Well, I figured that he needed to call me something other than Mr. Clint. The name gave me the heebies." He shivered dramatically for the group's sake. "So that gave you the right to Uncle?" Natasha teased. "Of course!" Clint moved over to where Peter was and sat next to him, making sure not to crowd the small teen. "He's got a cool uncle now. Unlike a tired old dad like Tony." The minute the words left his mouth, Clint knew he had messed up. "Clint!" Peter hissed, getting up to punch the man in the thigh with all his strength, which actually hurt. "Ouch...sorry, Pete..." He looked guiltily down at the boy who seemed crestfallen, his face almost ghostly white. Pepper chose that moment to lean forward, putting her hands on the table around Peter when it looked like he was going to run for it. "Peter, is that true?" Her eyes shone with what looked like hope to everyone else. "Do you really see Tony as your father figure?" It took a second for Peter to nod, not looking at Pepper. How could he? He was sure the woman hated him for thinking of her husband, the father of their child like that. He didn't have a chance against Morgan, and he wasn't going to contest her for that. "Oh, honey. Please don't be embarrassed....in fact, in the past, I've almost called you my son, and I know Tony has called you his kid before, too." The teen's head shot up, a shocked look on his face. "R-really?" The woman nodded with a smile. "But....I just feel so guilty," he said lowly. "I have May, and if she hears that I called you and Tony...you know," he waved his hand. "Then she would be really upset and be mad and disappointed..." "I've only met your aunt once," the blonde said. "But, I know she would never feel disappointed that you found someone in your life that you could look up to. I'll tell you what, though. We'll call her later and I'll leave you alone to talk to her, okay?" The teen nodded, putting his head down. But, it wasn't out of guilt. No, this time it was happiness keeping him from looking at Pepper fully. "So...so you wouldn't mind it if I called you....Mom?" The blonde woman let out a small laugh. "Mind? Peter, you've been living with us for what? Almost two months now? You've wormed your little self into our hearts within the first three days. I would love it if you called me mom. But, only if you're comfortable with it." Her heart almost exploded at that moment. Suddenly, Peter felt the rumbling of footsteps, but he felt no car. Whipping his head to the door, he watched, shaking with fear. Who was it now? It was the knock on the door that proved it was someone safe, or at least he thought. He still hid, climbing down from the table top to the leg and to the floor. He scurried under the couch just as Mrs. Barton had opened the door. He watched the feet around him move, noting no one seemed alarmed, and that put him at ease. "Peter? You can come out now," Pepper's voice came from above him and Peter slowly made his way out from his hiding spot. "Hey there," Hope smiled at the little teen, squatting to not seem so large. "Are you okay?" "Y-Yeah..thank you, Ms. Hope, for everything. You know, saving me and stuff..." He stared down at his hands. "Think nothing of it, Pete. It was a pleasure to get to know you." She stood up and turned, keeping an eye on the boy on the floor. "Has there been any word from Mr. Stark?" "Yes, he's all right. Him, Morgan and Bruce are on their way." Pepper noticed the way Natasha's eyes lit up and hid a smile. "We were just finishing making dinner if you'd like to help?" "Sure, I could help." Scott then turned to Hank. "Did you bring the machine with you?" "Of course I did," Pym scoffed. "I'm not an idiot like you." He motioned towards his circular bag on the counter. "I'd like to wait until Dr. Banner gets here. He's been studying Peter longer than I have and he knows a great deal more." The man looked towards the boy in the woman's hand, eyes softening when he noticed him shaking a bit. "Peter," he said softly. "What's wrong?" The boy shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just a little cold."the boy lied. He stared at everyone's shoes warily, jumping every time one of them moved. "Sean wasn't able to get your heart rate up enough to keep your body warm. I suppose that would be hard to actually change the inside of a human, not just their DNA." He sighed and shook his head. "I can understand why he did this, but why not take the boy's vitals into effect? Sean is a better man, a better scientist than this. I just don't understand." Hank knelt down, offering a hand. It was slow because Peter didn't know this man, but he wanted to get away from the feet as soon as possible. He'd never been around this many people with him on the floor before. Hank was in awe of the feeling of the small human in the palm of his hand and he smiled all the way to the counter, where he set his hand down and opened it fully for the boy to climb off. Which Peter did as soon as he was set on the counter near his 'knife' and immediately grabbed it, setting to chopping up the last of the pepper slices Mrs. Barton had given him before company arrived. He was almost done when suddenly fingers wrapped around him and he let out a small yell as he was lifted from the counter, knife clattering to the surface as he turned to see Mr. Clint grinning at him. "You've done enough from what I can tell. Come on, you need a break, and I need video games. Ever played Mario Kart?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Justin tapped his fingers against the armrest on the door of the limo, watching the scenery as they passed. He glanced at the holographic map, watching the dot slowly move forward. How far was this place? He was getting antsy. "Calm down," Ward's voice cut in on his thoughts. "The person the tracker was attached to will get there eventually and all we have to do is follow." "But," Hammer rivaled. "What if the person isn't going to where the kid is? What then?" Ward shook his head. "They're going to him. I wouldn't doubt that's the boy's mother." Hammer nodded and sat back, watching the world pass them by again. He was angry they couldn't take the plane, but this also gave him a chance to work on some of his coding. Taking out his tablet, he began typing furiously. It had been a good few hours before Ward got his attention. "There, see? I told you." Justin looked at the dot that had finally stopped. "Map," he ordered, and instantly a large map was pulled up, almost taking up the majority of room in the car. "Iowa?" Justin quirked a brow. "What could be in Iowa?" "Well, we're about to find out." Ward tapped the glass to get the driver's attention, Hammer sending the coordinates to him. "You have the destination." The driver nodded and sped up. Justin leaned back with a smile. He loved it when a plan came together. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Oh come on!" Clint huffed and sat back, staring at the screen. "How did you beat me, kid? Can you even reach all the buttons?" Peter smiled victoriously as he let the remote control go. "Barely, but that's enough to beat you apparently." Clint scowled playfully at the boy, swooping down on him, his fingertips attacking his hair, making him balk and try to get away. "Oh no you don't!" With a grin, Clint put his hand behind Peter, blocking his escape. "Now you're mine." He then turned to tickling, making the boy laugh. Laura shook her head smiling. "I swear, he's worse than the kids." Pepper laughed when she heard the teen let out a particularly loud giggle. "But I'm glad Peter has someone he can talk to." "Uncle! Uncle!" Peter cried from the couch, tears streaming down his red face. "I give up!" He batted at the huge fingers attacking his sides, his laughter turning to giggles when they finally stopped. "I thought so," Clint said smugly. "How's dinner coming?" He turned to look at the women behind the counter, smelling the peppers and onions. "It would come faster if you got off your lazy butt and helped," Laura threw a playful glare at her husband. "But if I do that, who will spend time with Peter here?" He picked up his remote. "Rematch." "No," said Mrs. Barton, walking over to the couch and grabbing Clint by the ear, dragging him to the kitchen while Peter laughed. Scott took his place, sitting closer to Peter than he was used to anyone sitting, and the dip in the couch suddenly had him falling into the man's thigh. "Mr. Scott! Could you move over please?" Suddenly the dip was gone and Peter was left staring at a tiny man, smaller than the boy, staring up at him and waving. "Sorry about that. I forget what it's like, you know, to be small. Think this is a better match?" Peter smiled and nodded, lifting the remote over to Scott and hit the play button. "But, will you be able to reach the buttons?" Hope came over and sat on the other side of the two. "Don't worry about that." She clicked her belt and a red disk came out of a small segment. She placed it on the remote and clicked a small device in her hand and the remote suddenly was gone! "That should be better, and if it doesn't work, then that's even better." She smiled smugly at where she thought Scott was, imagining him glaring up at her. The little teen sat next to his remote, dragging the joystick over to his side and they started the race. Unfortunately, Scott's controller did work, and that meant he was able to beat Peter, leaving Clint groaning in the background. "This is so not fair! Now I have to win my title back from two people!" The sound of a car pulling up to the house made everyone stop. Scott grew to his natural height and on instinct grabbed Peter, hiding him in his fist, thumb pressing his head down. "Sorry little man, but I can't risk you being put in danger, not when we're so close to fixing you." He brought his fist down to his waist, glancing at Hope. Pepper brought her wristband up to her mouth and whispered "Tony?" "What's up, Pep? We're still on the road." That made the woman's mouth go dry. "There's someone else here," she whispered. She moved closer to Scott in order to grab Peter if things went south. "Oh, shit!" Happy cried. "I forgot to tell you May was on her way. She was attacked at her apartment by one of Toomes' goons." The woman's shoulders dropped from relief and then there was a pounding on the door. "Hello? Is this the Barton residence?" Another knock. "Hello?" Pepper rushed to the door and threw it open, revealing the haphazard looking woman. "Oh May, I'm so sorry no one called you...with everything that happened, we just weren't thinking." May glared at the CEO. "Where is my nephew?" "He's inside, and he's safe. Like I said, I apologize for everything. This happened unexpectedly, May." The woman nodded and entered when Pepper stepped aside to allow her entry and found herself staring at some new faces as well as some very familiar ones. "Hello, everyone." Peter started wiggling in Scott's hand as he heard his aunt's voice. "May!" he called, beginning to sweat in the hot confines of the fist. "May! Over here!" he called again. It took a minute for Scott to guess he wanted out and opened his hand to let Peter breathe. "May?" The woman rushed over to her nephew, tears filling her eyes. "Oh, Peter....I was so afraid." She grabbed him, bringing him up to her cheek to nuzzle him. "Are you hurt? What happened?" Peter hugged May's cheek then pulled away. "I was taken from the compound by a classmate's father! He just picked me up and threw me into a briefcase! He was so big, he looked like a monster!" His voice cracked from the high pitch he used. "But then, he brought me to like this junkyard in the middle of the city where I got away and Mom-I mean Pepper," his face went red at the slip up, but he continued, hoping May didn't catch that. She did, though she let him continue. "She found us, then this whole thing with flying, Ms. Hope was there...it was crazy!" He spread his arms at the last part, eyes wide. "But, I'm okay, May. I promise." "Dinner's ready," Laura said cheerily from the kitchen area, setting up the table. "Pete, honey, I used some of Violet's old doll things for you." His aunt brought him closer to the table and Peter's eyes lit up when he saw he had an actual table set up with a-though large-fork and glass. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Barton." May lowered him to the table and he pulled out the tiny seat, looking as if it were made just for him. "This is great! I feel normal again." The he looked up to see everyone's giant faces staring at him. "Sort of." His aunt smiled and took a seat at the table, accepting a plate and slowly adding things to it. She went to ask Peter what he wanted, but it seemed Pepper was already there, filling his small plate with food. Her nephew laughed so easily with her it made her feel a little jealous. "Peter? Juice?" she asked, smiling when he nodded. And that was the way dinner went for the group, with laughter and talking. May even took over doing the dishes, not taking no for an answer. She of course kept Peter by her side, watching the little teen like a hawk, loathe to let him out of her sight. And the others understood, not even trying to take the boy from her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tony checked his watch for the twentieth time in the past half hour, letting out an exasperated sigh. "How much longer," he whined to Happy, who was gripping the wheel tightly. "We'll get there when we get there," the guard grit out. He thought Morgan would be bad, but she was the best one in the car. It was the adults getting on his nerves. "This is boring. I'm taking a nap," Tony sighed, aggravated. "Well, how about you fly yourself and your child to the farm and get there faster so you won't have to be bored and Bruce and I will get there later." "Shh, I'm sleeping." The billionaire had his eyes closed, head leaning against the window. He smirked when he heard Happy grumble to himself about childish bosses. But, the fact was, he was worried after the phone call from Pepper. He knew it was just May, but he couldn't help but wonder how his wife was doing. She was the light of his life, and if anything were to happen to her, or his family, he didn't know what he would do. Tony would literally die to protect what he had. He'd even had a dream where he actually had fought someone and ultimately made the biggest sacrifice, his life, to save them. Everyone was there, even Peter in that dream, only he was normal sized. It broke his heart to hear everyone cry for him, but he felt happy he'd saved everything. He just didn't want to have that dream again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The group stayed up as late as they could, or at least Peter did. By the time midnight hit, the boy was slumping over on Clint's shoulder where he was perched, leaning against the man's neck. It was the warmest place to be and he actually liked the way he walked, with practically no jarring motions, just a slight sway that helped lull him into the sate he was in now. Clint must have noticed, because in the next second, a finger was pushing the teen awake, Peter having to blink a few times. "Hey, kid, why don't you get some sleep, hm? I'm sure we have somewhere you can rest for the night." "I'll take him," May said abruptly as Pepper went to get up. "I was getting tired anyway. Had a long drive to get here." She forced a yawn out. Pepper smiled understandingly. "We have two guest rooms open," Laura said, watching her husband hand off the finger sized child to the brunette woman. "I'll show you where you can sleep. If you don't mind sharing,  Natasha will have to sleep in the same room." May looked towards the redhead and nodded. "Of course, I don't mind. The more the merrier, as they say," she laughed. "No, I think I'll be good where I usually stay," the redhead said, turning a faint pink from a catcall from Clint. Laura elbowed her husband and nodded. "Okay, okay, down boy. This way." She lead May upstairs to the first door on the left. "It's this one. Sorry it isn't much, but there's room for a cot and a bathroom attached if you need it." Laura showed the woman where everything was, then noticed her lack of bags. "I have something that will fit you, if you want to take a shower." May nodded vigorously. "Yes, please. Thank you so much." She sat on the bed, then raised Peter to eye level. "You okay, honey?" The boy nodded. "Yeah. I'm just glad you're here, May. I'm....I'm scared." It was hard to admit that to anyone, but he was. The reality of the situation was really getting to him. "I'm tired of being this size. I want to be normal again, go to school with my friends..." His voice broke, but no tears came. "It's so scary to be the height of someone's foot...one misstep, and that's the end...I thought I was used to it, but seeing everyone towering above me from the floor, I was reminded how tiny I am now, and it scared me..." His chin wobbled. "Oh, honey. I'm so sorry I can't say I know how you feel, but know that from now on, I will be here, no matter what. I'll even take that room at Mr. Stark's big, fancy building." Peter let out a wet laugh and nodded. "Thank you, May. I..I really appreciate this." "You're family, honey." At that moment a knock interrupted the family moment and Laura came back into the room holding a night shift. "This was all I could find at such short notice. I have to catch up on the wash, and as you know, with kids you can't ever catch up." May laughed. "Tell me about it. But, I wouldn't trade it for the world." She put Peter on the bed and sent him a soft smile. "Once I'm done, we'll find something for you to wear so you can get washed up, too, okay?" The boy nodded and watched the woman walk into the bathroom. He was left alone for a moment until Natasha walked into the room. Instantly the boy froze where he was, his eyes focused on the extremely frightening woman. "Hello, Peter," she said in a dulcet tone. "H-hello, Miss Natasha." He was nervous now, being the in the room alone with her. He watched her close the door and gulped. "Do you need something?" Natasha shook her head, walking around the room. "No. I'm just checking out the room. Very...cozy." Finally she came towards the bed, all the while staring at Peter with an intense look, seeing the boy cower from her. She had a pang of guilt for that and lowered her eyes with a sigh. "Look," she began, squatting next to the bed to be on the boy's level. She took all of him in in a second, focusing on his side where the obvious slice was now just a simple angry red line. "I know I haven't been the...nicest to you. I ignored you most of the time. But, can you blame me? You came out of a Hydra lab without a scratch. But, now I know, you're just a regular kid that has some unfortunate luck." She then looked to his side again. "Looks like that hurt," she nodded towards the line. Peter shrugged and played with the tattered edging on his side. Natasha chuckled and put her hands on the bed. "I won't hurt you.  Just know, if you ever need a hand with anything, I'll be there. Promise." She then lifted her hand and extended her pinky, smirking at the boy. The teen studied her eyes for a moment, then slowly brought his hand out, extending his pinky and touching it to the woman's much larger one, staring at the vast difference in their sizes for a moment before his face went red when he realized this was such a childish thing to do. "Thank you," he said lowering his hand. "Not a problem. I'll even make you a new outfit tonight, okay? It'll be ready when you wake up." "No, Miss Natasha! You don't have to do that, I'm fine, I promise!" His eyes widened at the thought of the giant woman sitting and taking time out of her night to make something for him. "Hush it, kid. You'll need something other than that." She rose to her feet just as the bathroom door opened and May came out, freezing when she spotted the woman. "Oh, hello Ms. Romanoff. If you're tired, you can have the bed. I'll ask Mr. Barton where the cot is." "No, don't worry about me, I'll be up for a while. I'll bring in the cot, though, this way I don't wake you later. Hope will be up in a minute, though." With that she left the room, but poked her head into the room, staring right at Peter. "Oh, and it's not miss Natasha. Call me Aunt Nat," she said with a smile and chuckled at the red color the boy turned.

"Do you need me to come? I can do a check up faster on Peter if I'm there." Bruce was worried about the kid in the hands of this asshole.

"No. Can't risk you breaking Greenwich if you accidentally chip a nail. I'll take care of this, but set things up just in case he's hurt." Which he better not be.

Tony took off from the lab out of the window that Friday opened for him. "Fri, show me where I'm going."

A small map showed up on the HUD, complete with the red dot which was still going in circles. Had the man found the nano-tracker? No, that was impossible, his tech was non-detectable. So what was he doing? Tony put on a burst of speed and broke the sound barrier, all the while watching the dot move with narrowed eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter was out of web fluid by the time he made it to Bleecker, which was farther than he thought it would be. The boy sat on a brick that was jutting out of the wall he had attached to and looked around.

It was now night and there was no one around. What was he supposed to do? Yeah, he had super abilities, but that didn't help him if he was the size of a skipper doll. He brought his legs up and curled his arms around them. He should have gone home, to May's. At least there, she would be able to help him get back to the Compound.

But, he'd done the stupid thing and now he was out of web fluid and too small to simply walk the streets and get on a train. He sniffled as he looked around the dark alley. He was alone, in the middle of the city with no way of getting back to where he would be safe. So, all in all, he was scared.

"Mr. Stark," he called softly into the darkness, sniffling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon suit made an appearance, Adrian had to freeze. He knew Iron Man would come looking, but he hadn't expected the man of the hour to show up so soon.

"Where is he?" Stark asked, anger in his metallic voice.

"Where is who?" Adrian asked. "All I see is you and me up here."

The billionaire raised his arm, nano-bots forming into a blaster. "I'm in no mood for games, you vulture. Where. Is. My. Kid?"

The gun started whining as it powered up and the light from it shone a bright blue. "Tell me why you took him!"

Adrian wasn't going to answer, but a voice got both their attentions.

"Justin Hammer has his family!" Phineas ran into view waving his arms to get Stark's attention. "Hammer has his wife and daughter. We don't know where the boy is, I swear! He shot my glasses full of this white gunk and got away using the junk piles."

Stark turned his attention to Toomes again. "When I come back, we'll talk. But, if Peter's hurt himself in any way, I will come back and do double that damage to you."

With that, his bots turned the suits arms back to normal and the propulsors jetted the man into the night sky.

Adrian felt his life beginning to crumble around him as he dropped to the ground, his legs giving out once he touch down. He sat in the middle of the junk yard while Phineas rushed to help him up. "We need to go," he said. "We'll have another chance-"

"No Adrian! This was our only chance, even you said that! We need to stay here and wait..." Phineas looked at his friend with trusting eyes. "You'll see Doris and Lizzy again, I'm sure of it."

"No...this is the only way I can face them, if I do this....I have to give this kid to the people who want him. Phineas, get out of here, I don't want you involved in any of this. Schultz!" His voice carried over the sounds of tinkering junk piles that vibrated. Phineas had made his way back to the building.

Herman came around the corner so quick he almost fell. "Go and try to find the little twerp," he breathed out, getting up and struggling under the weight of his wing-suit.

"Wait," Phineas called from the warehouse door, his tone sad. "Take this...just in case you get into trouble." He handed Toomes what looked like a mechanical glove. "Use it only in an emergency. It's only got a one time use."

Adrian smiled and squeezed his friend's shoulder. "Thank you," he said and took off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony had been searching the area for well over two hours, having Friday zoom his camera in, even turning on heat vision, but he still hadn't found Peter. Why did the rest of the group have to be on a mission right now? He could use their help. And that's when it hit him. Not everyone was on a mission.

"Friday! Call Pepper!"

"Yes Boss." At the first ring, Pepper's voice came on the phone, her breathing telling him she had ran to get her phone.

"Did you find him!?" she asked anxiously.

"Not yet, but that's why I'm calling. Can you have Bruce watch Morgan and come meet me? It'll go faster with two of us searching."

"Um, yeah, I'll be there soon."

With that she hung up and left Tony to keep searching alone for now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter was shaking now, the night air not agreeing with his small body. He had his knees tucked against his chest and his arms wrapped around them to try and stay warm, but that didn't really do much whenever the breeze came. He just wanted to go home and crawl into a blanket.

Why did all this stuff have to happen to him? Was it just the Parker Luck, or was it that life hated him? He didn't know, but he was really getting sick of it.

"I found him!" came a voice from the mouth of the alley, startling Peter out of his thoughts.

He saw a dark skinned man rushing toward him and instantly Peter was up and crawling up the wall as fast as he could, but that wasn't enough. He would have needed his webbing to get away, and he knew it the moment he saw the glowing fist.

"Not so fast, freak!" The man hit the wall and sent an energy pulse through the brick, destroying it under Peter's hands, leaving the boy grasping at nothing as he fell.But, he didn't fall for long, landing on the man's palm.

In one moment he saw light, the next nothing but darkness and a cramped feeling as the flesh squeezed around him.

"Adrian, I've got him. He was close to Bleecker, the sly little fucker. Coming back now."

With his advanced hearing, Peter could hear what the other man had to say over the obvious communicator.

"No. I'm coming for him. Wait for me there. I need to teach that little asshole a lesson."

The space the boy was in wasn't tight enough to stop the trembling.

"Yeah, you'd better be shaking, you little piss ant. You're in for it now."

They didn't have long to wait until the sounds of machines whirring down were heard along with footsteps. "Where is he?" Adrian snapped, anger in his voice.

"Right here," Peter felt himself lifted, and suddenly he was falling and let out a sharp gasp before he was in another fist, his head poking out.

He was lifted to an older man's face and looked into angry dark blue eyes. "Your father is looking for you," he hissed at the terrified teen. "Too bad daddy isn't gonna find you before I deliver you."

Pepper's voice startled them all into looking up, seeing the blue rescue suit hovering above them. "Well, it's a good thing daddy called in mommy, isn't it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the blue suit appeared behind Adrian, he instantly got a feeling of dread. As if his family was already dead and gone. He couldn't do that to them, he couldn't lose them! So with a burst of speed, he flew off, gripping the tiny teen in his hand, feeling his bones almost snapping in the process.

But, he didn't care at the moment. All he saw was his family.

"Stop!" the female voice called again, but Adrian couldn't. Suddenly a flash of red and gold appeared in his view along with a bright light.

"I would listen to the lady," Stark's metallic voice said. "She doesn't mess around when it comes to our kids."

Toomes knew he was blocked on all sides, except to take the highroad option. "You want him!?" If he couldn't get his family back, then the people fighting for the boy wouldn't get him either. With a determined frown, he boosted himself up, climbing higher and higher. He could hear the couple closing in on him and kept looking down to judge where they were.

"Catch!"

Drawing his hand back, he threw the tiny teen straight down.

Peter screamed as he left the man's fist, feeling the air rush past him as he flailed. Tears gathered in his eyes as he shot past both the adults. He felt the cold brush of metal as Pepper reached out for him, but he had no way of catching himself and he fell towards the ground. He watched them both get farther away as tears burned his eyes. ]

"MOM! DAD!" He screamed, too terrified to even filter himself right then.

Suddenly, a flash of black and then flesh was around him, knocking the air from his lungs and he gasped as they fell to the ground and Peter was thrown from the grip up into the air, where the cloth around his shoulders was grabbed, followed by a feminine grunt.

"Are you all right?" the woman asked and Peter looked up to see someone tinier than he was carrying him.

"Y-yeah." Peter replied shakily. "Who are you?"

"Just a friend. Hold on, okay?"

Peter wasn't expecting what came next. The tiny woman brought him lower to the ground and then suddenly she was grabbing him in her hand as she grew!

The boy just stared up at her masked face, his eyes darting from the wings to her mask and finally to her suit. She didn't look at all familiar.

"Hope!" A man grew from out of thin air and Peter just stared up at them. "Get him outta here and back to the compound! Hank will be there in a few hours!"

The woman nodded and looked down at Peter. "You ready?" She didn't give him a chance to reply before she was shrinking down. The boy screamed as she was suddenly dropped, but then picked up by his suit again.

"I'm Peter, by the way!" The boy shouted over the wind as the woman sped up. "Peter Parker!"

Hope had to smile at the naivety of this boy. "Well, Peter Parker, it's nice to meet you. I'm Hope." The woman flew higher and higher and further away from the fight.

"Is Mr. Hank gonna help me?"

"Hopefully he'll be able to fix what's wrong. We got a distress call from the compound." She wasn't going to tell the boy that Scott had given a few ants in the vicinity the alert system, so when they'd gotten the signal, it was a good thing they were already on their way.

"Scott has been sticking up for you," Hope had fondness in her voice. "He's been bugging my dad to come and fix you for days, so when he called Dr. Banner, Scott really laid into him."

He had bugged her dad so much that he said he needed to get away from him that minute and packed everything, including the house. They were on a plane in minutes. "Hold on!" she shouted and sped up, gripping the boy harder as he swung from her grasp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Give it up, Toomes!" Tony's voice was full of anger. "You lost. Peter is gone from here."

Adrian smiled. "You think your little building is going to keep him safe from me? How much do you want to bet that Hammer is there right now, since your band of freaks is gone and you've left the place unguarded?"

Pepper jolted in her suit and looked where she had seen Hope taking Peter. "Tony, we can't let her take him there!"

"Scott!" The billionaire was looking on the ground, not seeing him and afraid he'd taken off with Hope, when he heard his voice.

"How can I help you, Mr. Stark?"

"Tell Hope to stop where she is and hide, do not bring Peter to the compound. I repeat, do. Not. Bring Peter to the compound! It's been compromised."

"Got it!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope's eyes widened and she cursed. "We can't bring you back to the compound, Peter. Mr. Stark is afraid it might have been breached. I don't know where to bring you, though."

"I know a place! And, Mr. Stark and Pepper will be able to find us" He sounded a bit scared, but tried to stay strong for Hope.

"You're doing great, Pete. Tell me where this is?"

"It's my home in Queens. I'm pretty sure Aunt May is doing one of her shifts, so the place should be empty, but easy to get into. She always leaves one of the windows open a crack, no matter how many times I've told her not to do that."

"All right. Direct me to it." She began flying and Peter told her which way to go. "Scott, did you get that? We're headed to Queens!"

"Got it! Mr. Stark, they're going to Queens."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Queens? What would they be going to Queens for? Then it hit him, Tony remembered reading the kid was from there. Good thinking. "Good. Tell them to lay low while I finish him off."

"I'll go meet them if you don't need help," Pepper volunteered and Tony nodded.

"Go ahead. I've got this bucket meal."

The woman in the blue suit nodded and started flying, then remembered Ant-Man. "Scott, do you need a ride?" Something landed on one of her eye pieces.

"I'm already on, Mrs. Stark. And it's nice to meet you, officially, that is." Scott saluted her from where he was hanging onto her mask, making the woman smile. Only Tony would have friends like these.

"Hold on," was all the warning she gave before shooting off. "Friday, give me a location on May Parker's apartment in Queens."

"Of course, Pepper."

She loved that Tony had made the AI a woman, and an Irish woman at that. Her voice could be so soothing. In seconds a map was up on her HUD, with a red dot signalling where Peter was heading.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony watched his wife take off, holding Toomes where he was until the light from her prepulsors disappeared into the fading light. "Now that that's over, I have you beat, Colonel Sanders." He aimed his gauntlet at the man's chest, the light powering up. "So, are you ready to talk, or do I have to blast you out of the sky?"

Adrian felt rage like he'd never felt before, but what caught him off guard was Tony's offer to talk. Although, he'd said he wanted to talk to him in the junkyard too. "What's there to talk about? You said you've already won...so I give up. You win." Adrian put his hands up, but was smirking behind the mask. He wouldn't let his family go that easily.

"Why do I not believe you would ever back down that easily? Listen, I know what it's like to have your wife and daughter taken from you. Do you know who I am?" He put his arms out as if to prove a point. "But, that doesn't mean I'm not a reasonable guy when it comes to others."

Toomes made a face. "Okay, you got me there, but I'm being serious! I want to help you."

"Why would you want to help the person who put your son's life in danger?" Toomes was confused.

"Because you did it for a reason. So, let's talk and we'll find out how to get them back. Maybe even get a little revenge on Hammer while we're here." Tony put his hand out. "Waitin' on you, big bird."

Adrian took a long moment to think it over, then firmly clasped Tony's hand in his then pulled the man toward him, reaching for his reactor.

"Phineas!" Adrian yelled into his earpiece, mechanical fingers breaking through the protective glass on his reactor and pulling it off. "They're in Queens! GO!"

Tony could only watch in shock and anger as Adrian crushed his reactor and took off in the same direction as Pepper. He fell like a missile, reminding him of the very first suit he built in that cave, crash landing in the sand. At least then he had something he could fall into that somewhat cushioned his landing.

Now, the only thing he had was a building, which he fell through like a ton of bricks. When he hit the floor, he had to gasp as air was hard to come by at that point. Luckily the suit stayed on the most important body parts, like his head and spine, or else he would be drooling creamed spinach when he hit the floor. He gasped for air as he reached for his phone, the helmet finally falling away to crumble to the ground.

"Call Pepper," he wheezed, blinking a few times to try and get his bearings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Happy? Happy, do you copy? Happy? Anyone?"

Happy had been watching from one of the darkened windows as robots hovered over the compound and all around, aiming guns at the building. He had to guess they were everywhere when the voice came over his earpiece. "Who the hell is this?" he snapped.

"Uh....I'm Ant-man," the voice replied.

"Who?" Happy asked, turning away from the window.

"It's what I'm called. My real name is Scott. But, that's-that's not important right now. Mr. Stark is in trouble! The guy who took Peter, he had some kind of mechanical glove that took Mr. Stark's nano-thingy!"

That was not good. "Hold on, my phone always has his location." Happy began fumbling with his new phone, cursing it a few times, before Tony's blip popped up. "Got him!"

"You'd better bring a new power thing for him, if he has one. And anything else he might need."

"That's gonna be difficult, seeing as we're surrounded by Hammer Drones right now." And he wasn't kidding. "I'll get us out somehow."

"Us?" Scott asked.

"Yes, us, as in more than one person." Geez, was this guy an idiot? "I'm on my way, I have a plan." He disconnected with Ant-Man-who makes up these people's names?- and ran to the lab, pressing in his code.

"It's Happy, don't green me!" He called and walked slowly in, hands raised.

"Calm down, you won't get hurt." Bruce said from the corner he had Morgan hiding in with a coloring book and some pencils. To keep himself calm, he'd actually done a few. "Heard anything?"

The bodyguard shook his head and looked at the little girl. "We've gotta go," he said lowly. "Tony was making an escape hatch, kind of, but it's not finished. Well, it is, but I don't know how stable it is. But, it's the only chance we've got. Grab Morgan, pack a bag."

"Where will we go?" Bruce was worried about Happy's plan, especially if Morgan was involved.

"Where we always go. A safe house." Happy smirked and hurried out of the lab to Tony's personal lab when the first explosion hit. Then of course, his phone had to ring.

Glancing it at, he groaned. "Why Tony?" He thought about sending the call to voicemail when another explosion hit and Friday's voice came over the speakers.

"Mr. Stark is breaking protocol and hacking his own system because you're taking too long," the AI said.

"Of course he is. Yes, Tony?"

"Hey Hap. What took so long? You on the toilet or something?"

"No...I'm just in the middle of getting a car to come get your sorry ass. I've already got your location."

"This is why I love you. Hey can you-" another explosion. "What was that?" He drawled.

"Justin Hammer is trying to bust his way in through Friday's guards." Happy covered his head as a bit of ceiling came down.

"Really? Him too? This is why we can't have nice things."

"Yeah yeah, just stay where you are! I'm coming!" With that he hung up and made a dash for Tony's lab. He grabbed a silver case, putting three empty nano-reactors in, with the car stealth modules.He was sure Tony would be able to use them.

By the time he was ready, Morgan and Bruce were already in the garage, waiting with bags by their feet. "Uncle Happy, is my daddy okay?" Morgan's little voice sounded scared and she jumped whenever an explosion went off.

"Yeah, honey, your daddy is fine. We just have to go pick him up and we're gonna go to Uncle Clint's place."

"Why can't we go home?" she asked, her bottom lip quivering.

"Because your house is too far away right now. Maybe once you and your mommy and daddy are together again, you can all go home."

"Peter too?"

Happy nodded and grabbed her hand, bringing her to a car and picking her up. "Yes. I'm sure Peter will be there, too." Or at least he hoped. "Everyone buckled in?" Happy asked once he was in.

Seeing the nods, he took off, speeding through the garage. Suddenly a large column fell in front of the car, making the man have to swerve, wincing when he heard Morgan shriek in fear.

"Hold on, Morgan. I'm here to take care of you," Banner soothed the girl, bringing her closer to his chest.

Happy hit a button in the car, and in the distance a ramp opened up that lead down into a dark tunnel that got darker when the ramp closed after the car was off it. The guard hit the brights and instantly the darkness was illuminated by the car as they traveled down the tunnel that seemed to go on forever.

An explosion hit, making the car tremble and Morgan whimper. "It's okay, honey. Uncle Happy's going as fast as he can." Another explosion and suddenly the tunnel was collapsing behind them, the ground getting closer and closer to the car. "OH SHIT!"

The driver stepped on the gas pedal and the tires spun and the car skidded a bit before it straightened out and shot forward through the dark tunnel.

Moments later Happy saw the light at the end of the tunnel and floored it. The car sped up the ramp that lead to the forest road, the speed causing the car to lift from the ground before slamming down. "How we doing back there?" Happy asked, glancing in the mirror. He got worried when he saw Bruce panting.

"We're okay," the scientist breathed. "Just go."

Happy nodded and floored it, following his GPS to where Tony was.

As soon as she was cleared to leave the hospital, May got into her old ninety-four four door sedan and drove like a madwoman. She wasn't exactly clear on where this 'Compound' was, but she was determined to get there. Her nephew was now probably dead, and she wanted answers as to why that was! Tears tracked down the woman's face as she drove, listening to the GPS as it told her where to turn. She drove for what seemed like hours, no music, just the cheery woman telling her which street to take. For the past six months, she thought Peter had run away, living on the streets. She'd actually searched for him every day, looking down alley ways, calling different homeless shelters for months. She'd actually just spoken to an out of state one and was disappointed again. But when she saw that small boy sitting on the Hulk's shoulders, his hair was the same as Peter's....the cameraman had even gotten his tiny face into the screen and May felt her heart explode with happiness. But, all that disappeared when she saw the piece of asphalt land where he was laying. A sob ripped through her as the scene replayed over and over in her head as she drove. Suddenly she noticed the woman wasn't talking anymore and looked at her phone. The screen was blank with a message reading 'entering top secret area, no directions found.' "Great!" she screamed and sobbed again. Just then she passed a dirt road. May stopped the car and started driving down it. Hopefully someone lived along the road and maybe knew where the facility was. More thoughts then poured into the woman's head. How long had Peter been living there? Why hadn't he called her? Were the Avengers holding him prisoner? Did they even do that? Had he possibly gotten involved in something dangerous and his current body was the result? She didn't' know what to think, and tried not to let her mind wander, but it was too late. The only thing she knew was that she wanted her baby boy home with her today. Her tears were starting to dry when she was met with a large electronic gate with a huge white mansion looking building that the road led to. She took a deep breath and she felt a wave of relief as soon as she saw the large A on the building. Now that she had found it, how was she going to get in? Getting out of her car, she walked up to the gate and tried to peer inside when a man appeared in front of her, his round face angry. "You're on private property," he said with a growl. May saw red and put her hands on her hips. "Don't you think I know that!? I drove all night to get here and I demand to have some answers about my nephew!" Thinking about Peter suddenly started another wave of sobs. "I demand to see Tony Stark!" Her voice had risen to a shrill, explosive volume, her glasses askew on her face, hair wild from the wind. Happy gulped and contacted Friday to tell Tony. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What am I gonna do!?" Peter wailed from Tony's pocket, his fidgeting getting worse the closer and closer the group got to the common room. "Just calm down, Peter," the man said, taking a deep breath, feeling the boy rise and fall. "We're gonna talk to her, that's all. You know, offer her a place to stay if she wants to be near you. But there is no way she is going to be taking you out of this building." "But, Mr. Stark, she's my family! She's gonna want to take me home!" The man simply pushed the boy into his pocket and out of sight. "We'll take care of it, bud. Don't worry." He walked until he heard a scathing voice and stopped. "Mr Stark, I presume?" The woman who met them in the common room looked nothing like her picture. Her hair was wild, and her eyes were red and glassy behind her glasses, as if she'd been crying for hours. "That depends on who's asking," the billionaire said, and wished he hadn't. May's eyes flashed with fire the moment the group walked into the room. She wasn't even paying attention as they all stared at her. "I was told that Peter is top secret," May said in a dangerously low voice. "Peter was my nephew, my only living family, so I have more than a right to know what happened to him," she snapped. The boy huddled deeper in Tony's pocket the moment the woman spoke, and right now, he wanted to join him. "I apologize about that. Yes, my name is Tony Stark. Let me say first, you look so much better than your picture." He shot her a winning smile, but the woman didn't stop glaring. Well, there went that plan. "I want my nephew's body," she demanded shakily, her body trembling. Happy was in the corner, trying to hide the fact that he was listening and failing if his shocked face said anything. "If you don't hand it over, I will bring lawyers into this." "May, if I can call you that, this is a difficult situation to explain. But first, I will let you know, Peter is alive." The woman's shoulders sagged with relief and tears came to her already cried out eyes. "But, if Peter leaves this building with other than myself, or any of the Avengers, it will be dangerous for him. There's people who are working for Hydra that want to take him back to the scientists that did this to him." May scoffed. "Yeah right. You're probably trying to cover for yourself after something went wrong. How dare you try and keep Peter away from me after what I saw! What did you do with him!?" "He's telling the truth, May!" Peter's head popped up from Tony's pocket, his face a little red from the heat around him. "Him and the Avengers are the ones who saved me...I....I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry or think I was dead. The Hydra people, they took me while I was walking home from school. I couldn't fight them, there were too many, and I was so weak back then. I'm sorry." Tears started tracking down the boy's face as he spoke, staring at the ashen faced woman. In an instant, May had surged forward and taken Peter out of the more than shocked billionaire's pocket before Tony could stop her. Happy had moved in that moment as well, but when he saw the small boy, he simply stared, mouth open in shock. She held him in a curled hand, eyes wide as she looked at him. "Oh, Peter," she finally said, her voice raw as tears came to her eyes. "I was so worried about you....I thought you had run away, that I did something wrong to make you so angry that you would leave...The when I saw the news, you were there, and then that piece of rubble.." The boy's head was shaking like a bobble.  "Aunt May, you could never do anything to make me hate you. You're wonderful and I love you so much." He said as he held onto the woman's thumb. "And I'm so sorry you had to see that...It's just...I can't leave." Her eyes went wider, if that was possible. "What do you mean? Are they holding you prisoner?" She sent a glare to the group who had the right to look a little ashamed. "No, May....what Mr. Stark said was true. What you saw on the bridge, those guys that attacked us, they were after me. Hydra really does want me back." "Why?" "Because..." he looked down, drawing little circles on the woman's palm. "Because I was the only person who survived the procedure to turn me this way. All the rest of the people with me died....in horrible ways." He didn't want to go into detail. "But, then the Avengers came and took me out of where I was....they gave me freedom again, let me go outside. Not by myself, but at least I got to walk around by myself! And I've met so many amazing people, like Mr. Stark! He got Captain America to agree to help me even when I'm normal with the changes that happened. We were actually testing out my abilities before you came." May's brow was raised again. "Abilities?" "Ms. Parker," Bruce came forward with a smile. "Please allow me to explain, because Tony will just make it so confusing. You see, your nephew was given injections by Hydra, some of which were made by a Dr. Hank Pym, who also made Ant-Man." He paused and the woman nodded, seeming to understand. "So, Peter's body was compressed, but his mass was doubled. But, according to his size, he is the weight he should be, but due to his mass increasing, he's able to move things that are up to one thousand times his weight, and maybe more. It's really very interesting." When he finished, May had been following, but the man had lost her towards the end. "So...what does that mean?" "I'm like a super strong ant," Peter explained. "I was able to save Morgan, Mr. Stark's daughter. It took a lot, but I was able to lift her over the road." "Is that how you survived? These...abilities?" Peter nodded. "Well, I guess I have to thank them for that. It's a miracle that you're here at all...but what about when you get-get to normal?" "That's a bit harder to explain," Tony stepped forward, wanting to be close to Peter just in case he fell or the woman fainted. "You see, when Hydra gave him the shots, the DNA they injected him with pretty much changed his whole genetic makeup. He's still Peter, but now he's mixed with spider. We're not sure what kind of spider, though I'm convinced it was one hooked on something because he's too hyper." He reached out and with a finger, rustled the boy's hair. "How did you get blueberry in your hair?" May watched the interaction, fascinated about seeing the soft side of the money mogul. "So...does that mean...he'll be changed when he gets back to normal?" May was staring at Peter like he wasn't even her nephew anymore, and that hurt the boy the most. "Well, yes and no. When he can finally get him back to normal, which I'm guessing will be much taller than he is now, he'll probably be able to do everything he can do now. Some new abilities may begin to grow, or they may not. Time will only tell. But," Tony smiled, "my offer still stands for the others to train him. That will remain for as long as he needs or wants it." "R-really!?" Peter felt his heart swell at that news. He would still be able to come back when everything was back to normal? "I don't know," May said, dashing the boy's dreams. "I don't want Peter anywhere near where he can get hurt. He's a frail boy." Clint started laughing. "Really?" he managed to get out. "The kid who can lift seventy pounds the way he is, is frail? Yeah right, tell me another one." "May, I...I've changed. Because of Hydra, I'm not that frail boy you knew anymore. I'm much stronger, like I said. I can run faster, move things I was never able to before, and once I'm big again, I'm sure I'll be able to do all these things and more! Please, May...I've made a lot of friends here and I promise I'll be safe.Right Mr. Stark?" The man threw his hands up. "Yep, completely safe. We're basically just talking about training him to control his senses and strength." He wouldn't tell her about the suit he'd build for the kid, nor would he tell her if Peter decided to use it. That was Peter's job. May nodded. "Then I guess it's okay," she said a little unwillingly. She looked at Peter, still stunned at his size and the fact that he was still alive, and in her grip. With a watery smile, she brought him close to her chest and hugged him as best she could. "I missed you so much, Peter." Peter smiled as he was enveloped in May's scent and warmth, the things he was used to. "I missed you too," he said, not sure if the woman heard him, but at the moment he didn't care. Too soon he was pulled away and was presented with a pair of lips coming at him, and before he could scramble away, May was planting a soft kiss to his head, which enveloped half his face with it. "MAY!!" he yelled, embarrassed to be kissed in front of the entire Avengers team. He enjoyed it though, even though when she pulled away, his face was red. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They were back in the training room, May hadn't given up her hold on Peter just yet, insisting on holding him in her palm the entire way, all while looking around. She was promised a tour by her nephew after the tests. Happy had appeared on the way down to the training room, smiling at May a little too much. "So," he started, clearing his throat. "How are you doing? You know, with all this?" The man had motioned towards Peter, who had ducked the incoming hand, sending a glare Happy's way. "Oh..I'm doing a little better than I was before. I mean, I'm coming to understand that he won't be like this for the rest of his life, so that's a good thing. The only thing I'm worried about are these tests they're doing." "I'll be fine, May," Peter said with a sure smile. Happy stared at the finger sized kid in the woman's hand. He sometimes wished his life was more....sane. "And here we are," Tony's voice broke through the tension and they stopped in front of the training room, which was soaked at the moment. "What happened?" Happy asked as he stepped in a puddle, making a face. "It's just a test for Peter," Steve said shrugging. "See if he can stick to wet surfaces." May put her hand up. "Wait, wait...stick to wet surfaces?" She stared at the boy who looked a little too innocent. ""May, can you put me down?" the boy asked. His aunt was hesitant, but agreed, lowering him to the floor, allowing him to crawl off her hand. "I'm gonna need to focus on this, but remember when we were talking about abilities? Well, sticking to things is one of those abilities. I don't know how it works, but it seems to work better when I can concentrate on what I'm sticking to." He shrugged at the crouched woman who stared at him. "Ready?" Doctor Banner asked, his eyes on the boy at their feet. Peter gave him a thumbs up and started running to the wet wall, avoiding the shin deep puddles and waited by the wall for the say. "Go whenever you want,"the doctor said. Peter nodded and put a hand and foot against the wall. The wet surface was a little tricky because of it's slippery nature, but he was sure he could do it. He focused intensely on the slippery wall until he felt his fingers stick, then the pads of his foot before allowing himself to begin to ascend. He waited until he felt his other limbs stick, making his climb faster. He only slipped twice, and that was when he looked back to see May staring at him with worried fascination, while Happy was checking out the woman's butt, and he lost concentration. Peter didn't go as high this time, because it was a lot harder to stick to a wet surface. "I'm coming down!" he yelled and tried to come down the way he had before, but that was a lot harder on a wet surface, and he caught Happy checking out his aunt's butt again and lost his concentration. With a shout, Peter felt his feet slip and he was free falling, tumbling through the air. He saw the ground rushing to meet him, and closed his eyes, expecting to hit the hard ground, but what he hit was something soft, yet firm enough to daze him from the contact. Slowly he opened his eyes and found himself looking up at Mr. Rogers' worried face as his hands cupped around him. "Are you alright?" the man asked, bringing Peter up to check him over. The boy nodded, wincing when that hurt his neck a little. "Y-yeah, I think so.." he stuttered. "Thank you." "You're welcome. That was pretty impressive to watch, by the way," the man smiled as Peter blushed. "Th-thanks..." He couldn't believe he had just gotten a compliment from Captain America! True he hadn't really fanned out about living with the Avengers, but he had never really had a chance to think about it, with his situation. But  it seemed to be setting now that he had his aunt in his life suddenly, bringing back a semblance of normalcy into his life. "That was very good, Peter," Doctor Banner said leaning over to look down at him. "Why don't you take a little break, be with your aunt while we set up the next test, okay?" Peter nodded and stood up, feeling his feet stick to the familiar texture of skin. Apparently he didn't need to focus on something if he'd already stuck to it. "Mr. Stark?" he called and the man turned. "Can I, umm....can I be on my own in here, on the floor I mean?" He stared at the man with big eyes and he sighed. "Those eyes are weapons," Mr. Stark said to his aunt, who smiled and agreed. "Just be careful, okay?" Peter smiled brightly and automatically started hopping in Mr. Rogers' hands, acting like he had to pee. "I guess you wanna be put down?" Rogers teased, laughing when the boy nodded so fast he thought his head would fly off. "Okay, I'll set you down, but stay close to you aunt, okay? May?" He looked to the woman, who seemed surprised that Captain America was talking to her and nodded. "I can watch him. I've been doing it for the past nine years," she said snappily. It was obvious Peter was very popular here and that was making May a little jealous. Peter ran to his aunt, who knelt to in order to not be towering over him, even then she knew she must look so big compared to his size now. "Why haven't you called me?" the woman asked, obvious hurt in her voice, her hand reaching out to Peter, her fingers stroking his back. The boy looked at her nervously. "Because...I didn't want you to see me like this. I was afraid if you did, the shock would give you a heart attack or something. So, we were gonna wait until I was back to normal, but we don't know when that will be. I'm sorry, May." May smiled and scooped the boy up, bringing him in for another hug, loving that her nephew was alive and safe. "I'm just glad that you're okay, honey, honestly. You don't have to worry about anything, okay. As long as you're safe and with me, I don't care what happens." She pulled him away and rubbed his head with her pinky, laughing at the aggravated sigh he gave at that. "About that," Tony chose that moment to cut in while Bruce and the capsicle analyzed everything for Peter's next test. "What we were talking about earlier, him staying here, that's a must unfortunately. So if you want to bring Peter home with you, we all have to go. And that means less time here to work on the cure, the more time Pete has to spend time as a Liliputian...do you get where I'm going with this?" May nodded, her face scrunched with anger. "You're saying you want to take my nephew away from me so you con continue to experiment on him." Tony shook his head, a shocked look on his face, that was covered in an instant with a not too strong glare. "No, we want him safe. We want him back to normal again, because between Clint and my daughter, we have enough children around here." "Hey!" the archer cried with a pout. Tony ignored him. "I want you to go home, knowing everything is all right and Peter is safe right where he is. This is the safest place for him to be right now. Plus, he loves it, right Mighty Mouse?" Peter laughed and nodded. "Yeah, May! Please...I don't want to put you in danger. If I go home with you, that means you'll have all the Avengers at the apartment, which will bring more trouble than it's worth. So please, let me stay here, where it's safe. I know you have to go to work, but Mr. Stark has offered a place to stay if you need or want it, okay? So I won't be completely off limits to you if you want to see me." "While that doesn't make me feel a little better," May said. She wanted her nephew by her side, with her where she knew he would be safe. But, this place, it was like a fortress, almost seemingly built for keeping people safe. She hoped that was the case in this moment. "All right," she agreed again with a shaky sigh. "I'll let you stay here on one condition. You call me, and once you're normal, I want to be the first person to know, do you hear me?" Peter nodded, his eyes wide and shining. He got to stay with the Avengers! "And, Ned has been asking about you. Would you like me to tell him where you are?" The boy thought about this, but shook his head. "No, because if we tell him he's gonna wanna come and see me and the compound....which I don't think it's a good idea to let a lot of people know where this place is located, you know? I hate to say it, but he's gonna have to keep thinking I'm missing, and you're gonna have to play along with it May. I'm sorry to have to do that to you." Tony then realized that Peter apologized to the people he loved or trusted way too much. And then it hit him. Peter apologized to him all the time. He got a warm feeling in his heart at that and hid his smile behind a cough. "We're all set up," Steve turned to May and Peter, smiling at the way the boy looked at the woman adoringly. "Okay George Shrinks, let's get this over with, I'm sure you're hungry after all this." Tony simply grabbed the boy around the middle. Peter was placed on the floor near what basically looked like flat surface. "Am I supposed to be impressed?" May asked with an eyebrow raised, letting them know if they hurt Peter, they would be answering to her. Doctor Banner was the one that answered. "You will be. This is a training simulation that was made for Scott, also known as Ant Man. He was supposed to come and stay with us full time, so this was made for his training. He decided to stay where he was with his family, so you can use it until you're fixed. It has a few tricks in it. They're not exactly made for your abilities, but this will test your ability to think on your feet." The man stepped towards Peter, casting his shadow over the minuscule boy. "Go whenever you're ready." He could feel every time one of the giants shifted, feel the rumbles and vibrations in the floor. He really hoped that didn't distract him. Peter nodded and took a step onto the blank looking floor, when suddenly walls that were his height popped up from beneath the tile. "Friday," Mr. Stark said from above him. "Lower the Piss-Ant training course slightly." Steve glared at him. "What? I thought Scott would be using it." Suddenly a shadow became larger and Peter felt the back of his neck tingle and turned to see the billionaire crouching down, his hands held out. "Thought you could use these, kid. And thank Friday for  the vials. She thought of them and cut them down to size." The boy took his web-shooters and the now full vials and smiled. "Thank you," he whispered, then turned up to the ceiling. "Thanks Friday!!" "You're welcome, Peter," the AI replied, happiness in her voice. "Try them on," the billionaire urged. Peter nodded and hurriedly attached the wrist bands. He would have never been able to make the vials that small. They had to be at least only a centimeter in one of other's eyes, but to Peter they were just right. He wondered what type vials Mr. Stark had. "What are those?" May asked, looking at Mr. Stark with worry in her eyes. "Just watch," the man replied. Holding out his hand, Peter aimed at the low wall, and pressed his middle and index finger to the applicator, using his strength to push it down. A  harsh click and a stream of web-like fluid came shooting out, but the thing that surprised the boy was the kickback that made him fall back. And he found the webs sticking to a familiar pair of jeans. Looking up he saw the stunned face of a certain billionaire staring at the webbing. "Mr-Mr. Stark! I'm sorry!" Peter began pulling at the string of web to no avail, not realizing how strongly they would stick to objects. "Okay, this is gross," the man griped, pulling at the white strands, making a face when they stuck to his skin. "Jeez, kid. Apparently they work. A little too well, I would say." Peter blushed as he stood. "Um...I don't know how long they'll stay...it shouldn't be long, I made sure the webs would be able to dissolve in the air. I hope I didn't ruin your pants." He shook his wrist, the strand falling from his shooter. "Just go do the course kid," Mr. Stark sighed and stood, the strand hanging from his shin. Peter felt bad about what had happened, but now he knew there was a definite kickback if he pressed the activator too hard. "I'm ready," he said lowly, and thankfully Friday heard him. The first obstacle was dodging the walls that were as tall as him, which moved. Peter thought that was really cool. Staring at the walls, he timed them and thought out the mathematical pattern for the four walls in seconds. Keeping that in mind, he jumped to the first wall, keeping his hands and feet as far away from himself as possible so he could be flush to the wall. It was hard to keep his grip, but he only had to hold it for a second until, and there it was! The second wall moved diagonally behind him, coming so close he thought it might hit him, but that was only his senses tricking him. With a grunt, the boy threw himself from the wall he was stuck to, flung himself around and gripped onto the passing wall in a perfect rendition of a dancer doing a pirouette. He silently thanked his aunt for those dancing lessons. Next was the wall that was the furthest from him, and possibly the most tricky to get to, since it moved up and down and side to side in a random sequence.It did go higher, then the others but left a substantial gap on the floor of the maze that was just big enough for him to get under, but it came down too quick to be safe. Besides, he'd figured out this equation on possibly stronger legs, and there was only one way to find out if it would work. Waiting for the wall he clung to to pass the first wall, he quickly let go with his hands and moved his feet so they were flat. He only had a few seconds to try this, so squatting down, the boy felt his muscles curl and he jumped! Apparently his legs had gotten a stronger than he thought, because he reached the tricky wall faster than he calculated, which earned him probably a nice big bruise on his right leg as the teen crashed into the wall with a loud 'thunk' upside down and turned outward as the wall was heading down. He had been planning on landing the right way, but thankfully he didn't go beneath the floor, crab walking up the wall. The fourth and final wall spun and moved at the same time, making it hard, but the pattern was predictable, as well as the timing. Pointing his hand out, Peter shot a web stream at the wall, feeling his body reel from the kickback, but he forced himself to keep the aim. When the wall stopped spinning was when Peter allowed himself a moment to cheer a moment before connecting the strand in his hand to the wall he was on, successfully stopping the other object's movements. Flipping himself up, the boy landed on the web, his balance wavering a bit as he felt his feet stick to the already sticky web. Soon Peter was doing a tightrope walk that would have made his gymnastics instructor weep. Now it was on to the pendulum looking objects flying through the air from the ceiling. Those would be a little tricky, but he was sure he could do it. Crouching down, he grabbed the web for balance, and pointing a hand out, he hit the activator and timed it just right so that the web stuck to the bottom of the first swinging piece. He propelled himself off the wall and time and time again, he gripped each one of the swinging objects, until he came to the last one. Aiming his web shooter, he clicked the activator as gently as he could and felt proud when a web shot and stuck to the top piece with little kickback, and swung himself toward it. The boy then climbed up the now swinging web and flipped up to land on the top of the giant hammer-like pendulum. He studied the area in front of him as he passed again and again, looking for the next test, but he couldn't see anything. Not until he climbed up a little and instantly his face went white. Mr. Barton came into view, his huge body waiting for him with an arrow ready. "Don't worry, kid, they're foam tipped," the archer said, noting the way the small teen froze, poking himself with the arrows. "They won't hurt you and I'll be gentle." Peter looked to Mr. Stark, who only nodded and smiled in encouragement. He gulped and turned back to Mr. Barton. "I-I'm ready," he stuttered. The archer nodded and notched the arrow. "It'll be fine, kid," he said with a gentle smile, and let it fly straight at Peter. The teen heard May gasp, which had him flying into action. The boy only had a second to dodge, his senses screaming at him. Peter jumped over the massive arrow, feeling it brush against his arm before he used a hand to flip and land on top of it, running along the half mile long stick as it sped toward the ground. Another arrow followed it, aimed a little higher and to the left of the boy. When it was close enough, he jumped to the side. He meant to land on top of the arrow, but at the last minute he felt his finger slip off the foam, and he hit the hard metal with a pained grunt, rolling along the rod with the velocity until it finally ran out and he fell from the arrow, flipping head over heel in mid-air. He heard May cry out. The ceiling and the floor became so disorienting that Peter didn't know which was was up. Suddenly a shadow fell over him and Peter let out a loud grunt as he shot a web towards what he hoped was the person's chest, his arm nearly coming out of the socket when he came to an abrupt stop, his centrifical force causing him to swing toward the body he'd attached to, and the speed he was going caused the boy to close his eyes before he hit, the force behind it enough to make him gasp. "Ouch..." he mumbled against the cloth, forcing his hands and feet to move to stick to the person he'd hit. "You okay, kid?" Mr. Barton's voice sounded too close, making Peter look up to see the man's body twisted to stare down at Peter, who looked to see he was hanging from the man's shoulder blade. "Oh my god!" he pulled himself away a little too quickly, because he had to grab the web that was still wrapped halfway around the man and wound up hanging from the string. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Barton!" The man just chuckled and grabbed Peter gently between his thumb and pointer finger, tugging him away from the webbing. "It's all good, pipsqueak. As long as you're okay. And what happened to Uncle Clint?" The boy smiled. "I forgot, Uncle Clint. Better?" The archer nodded with a smug look, but that disappeared when Peter looked down at the man's thumb. "That was so embarrassing, though..." After a moment, Clint laughed. "Kid, I don't know what you saw, but that was freaking great! I think Natasha and I have to watch our backs in this business. If Nick Fury ever finds out about you when you get back to normal, I have a feeling you'll receive a phone call real soon."

"Tony...Tony, it's time to get up. Come on." The man buried his face into his pillow and groaned. "Fi'e more min'tes." "No, now. Come on. Did you forget about the school tour today?" Pepper stood over the bed, hands on her hips as she scowled down at him. The man opened one eye and closed it immediately. "All right, all right." The week had passed so quickly for everyone. It was like they blinked and it was next week. And all through the week, Peter had been having nightmares, which Bruce had said was normal for someone going through what Peter was. It meant he was finally feeling comfortable here. Tony felt it was late, but at least the kid was starting to feel like himself. Tony brought his hand up the mattress slowly, the stopped before patting around him. "Where's Peter?" The boy generally had been sleeping in their bed all week whenever a nightmare happened. Pepper smiled. "Oh, that's why I got you up earlier than usual. It seems Peter had another nightmare last night, poor thing, but this time it was Morgan who went to him before he could even get off the bed, and....well, come and see." Tony rolled out of bed and stretched, groaning in relief when his shoulders and back cracked before getting up and following his wife. "You have the most spectacular body in that suit, did I ever tell you that?" "Even in the mornings you're crude," the woman said with humor in her voice. "Now, quiet." She slowly pushed open the door to Peter's room and Tony thought his heart was going to melt right then and there. On the bed lay a sleeping Morgan, but cuddled right up to the bridge of her nose was a little lump he recognized as Peter. The boy had his face pressed against the girl's skin while his legs were folded into a fetal position. A small smile was on Morgan's face and she wiggled a bit, bringing a hand up to curl around Peter, who let out a tiny sigh. Tony slowly crept forward and pulled his phone out. "Friday," he whispered as he aimed the camera at the sleeping pair. "Brighten lights ten percent." The lights came up just bright enough for the man to get a picture of the sleeping pair. Once he was done, he looked back to Pepper, who was watching, her hand over her heart. "Mis'er St'rk?" Tony looked down at the voice. "Go back to sleep," he brought a finger out to run it across Peter's hair. Peter nodded and fell back to sleep as quick as he woke up and Tony took that time to sneak out. He was so using that shot as his screen saver. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter was woken by Morgan's movements bouncing him on the pillow and he groaned, reaching around for a blanket. Finding none, he shivered and opened his eyes. "Good morning," the little girl whispered. "Morning," Peter yawned and stretched. "What time is it?" "Time to wake up!" she giggled and grabbed Peter gently in her hand, transferring the surprised boy to her shoulder, where she felt him latch on to her neck. It felt funny when he used his stickyness on her. "Mommy and Daddy are already up and cooking breakfast." At that, Peter's face went white. "Da-I mean, Mr. Stark's cooking?" God help him, he almost called Mr. Stark dad.. "You can call him that, too," Morgan stopped walking to turn her head to look at Peter. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind. And, I already told them I think of you as my little big brother." The teen felt his heart speed up and his face go red. That's how Morgan really looked at him? He would have thought she hated him, because of all the time he spent with Mr. Stark. "I know you have your Aunt May, who's really nice, but, I would miss you if you stayed away. I know Mommy and Daddy would, too." Peter nodded. "But, I just can't call some guy I just met last month 'dad'. And yeah, May is nice, but she's kind of like my mom and dad rolled into one, you know? I feel it would hurt her more if I started calling Mr. Stark that." Morgan shrugged and started walking again, putting her hand up in case Peter fell from the movement. "Well, I know I would like it if you were part of the family all the time. But, I can't see that nice lady all alone when she cares about you. Just know we would miss you, too if you stayed away for good." She dropped the subject as they turned into the kitchen. "It's about time. I thought all these muffins would be gone if you two were any later." Mr. Stark was sitting at the table with his tablet in hand, sipping at a cup of coffee, eyebrows raised as he looked at the two from over the rim of the mug. "What? What is it?" "N-nothing," Peter was quick to yell, feeling Morgan wince from the volume in her ear. "We're just surprised to see all...this." He motioned to the table full of muffins and crepes filled with different assortments of fruit and creme's. "Ah, yes. I was totally capable in the kitchen and used this to make it appear." The man tapped his tablet with a smirk, Pepper chuckling as she sat next to the man. "Peter, I'll help you get what you want, and I've got your cup filled with coffee the way you like it." The woman pointed to the small cup sitting on one of the doll saucers which was settled next to a plate. "Thank you, Pepper." He waited for Morgan to take a seat then jumped onto the table to walk around the food and pick what he wanted, Pepper taking the items off their plates and cut them into small pieces, depositing them onto Peter's plate. The boy then sat behind his 'table' and a thought struck him as silverware hit the plates. He was already a member of this family, whether he wanted to be or not. "Peter?" Mr. Stark had his eyes on him, the gaze flicking to everything. "Are you alright?" The boy nodded with a warm smile. "Yeah. I think I am." The man nodded and turned back to his food, keeping an eye on the pleased teen as they ate. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Toomes sat in the van to the side of the road, made up to look like a telephone repair van. "Are you sure I'm in the system?" he asked once more and Phineas nodded. "I was up all night looking for any way into the system, but I was finally able to access Stark's mainframe and create a personnel file for you. Not even his AI noticed what I did." All in all, the man was proud of himself for his tinkering skills. "Here's your badge. I made it high enough so that you can get into the labs, but not too high so someone would notice." He handed Adrian the lanyard with his picture and the code he would need to scan at the entrance. "Thank you, man," Toomes said, meaning it. He was about to get his family back. "No need. Now, here's the remote I promised you. Providing you don't use it too early, I should be done with your suit when you need it. Just give me about...and hour. Think you can do that?" Adrian nodded. He would use that time to look for the boy. He grabbed his briefcase and took off the jumpsuit he was wearing to cover the suit he had on. "Wish me luck." Herman and Phineas nodded their heads, and Adrian was out of the van. Walking quickly, he turned down the road where the sign said. Seriously, if your building was top secret, why have a sign directing people to it? Slowly, he came to a gate and stopped when someone came out holding what looked like a regular gun. Adrian tried not to laugh at the simplicity of it. "What is your business here?" the guard asked, voice hard. "My name is Daniels, I'm new here. Would have been here sooner, but, my car broke down about two miles down the road and I had to walk. Already called Triple A, they said they'd take care of it." He held out his pass, making his hand stop shaking. He trusted Phineas' work. The guard scanned it and looked to the screen, before nodding. "Go on in. You want a bottle of water? It's still pretty hot out." "No, I'm good. Thanks, though! You take care." And I hope you're not here when I leave. You seem like a good man. With that, he made his way into the building just as a bus pulled in through the gate. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "You okay in there, bud?" Peter looked up at the billboard sized face of Mr. Stark as he glanced down at his breast pocket. "I'm okay, Mr. Stark." He shifted again as he felt his foot fall asleep, making a pained face as it woke up. "Then stop moving, the kids are almost here." Tony gently slipped the folded handkerchief he always sported with every suit he wore in front of Peter to  block him even more from view. "Hey!" he shouted, but was stopped by Mr. Stark's finger flicking his leg through the pocket "Ow," he whined softly and punched the man's chest and stopped moving after that. "Welcome, futures of tomorrow!" Mr. Stark's loud, booming voice  made Peter wince as it vibrated through him and he covered his ears. "I am so glad you could be here today! Too bad we can't get rid of the feds, right? But, they're here to watch over you, which is why I had them sign waivers over all of you!" He made a motion that lifted Peter and set him down in such a quick jerk he was almost thrown out. Peter smacked the man's chest. "Careful!" he hissed, but Mr. Stark didn't hear him. "Now, I can't stay with you for the entire tour," a few of the class whined. "I know, but I need to get back to work for once." This made the class laugh. The man walked for what seemed like ever, and it was getting too hot in the pocket. If Peter could just get a breath of air, he would be fine. Moving as slowly as he could, the teen grabbed the edge of the fabric and hoisted his head out. His face was flushed as he pushed the pocket square aside, heaving for breath. Mr. Stark must have felt this, because suddenly the boy was being pushed back into the pocket and a stern look was sent down at him with a subtle head shake. "It's too hot!" Peter whispered, moving his mouth so the man could see instead of hear, but there was nothing he could do, so he felt the man shrug. So, Peter sat in the heat, feeling the sweat soaking into the blue and red suit Morgan made for him. He needed something else. Maybe he could call May and ask her to bring some clothes for him from a toy store. Finally, it was too much. Everything was too hot. Too loud. He could feel every beat of Mr. Stark's heart go through him, jarring his senses so much he was in physical pain. Every time the man spoke, it felt like he was screaming. He had to get out! But, if he was seen, that was the end and Mr. Stark would probably send him to be with May, danger or not, and he couldn't risk his aunt like that. But, it was so hot! Peter tried talking, but just moving his jaw hurt. With a grimace, he lifted his head, his face hitting the cool air. He tried not to bring himself out of Mr. Stark's pocket too much, when suddenly the man whipped around, causing Peter to shout and caught the attention of the boy standing next to the man. He and Peter stared at one another, one with wide, unbelieving eyes, the other with such a scared face he looked about ready to wet himself. "Peter?" Ned whispered, getting MJ's attention. The girl met Peter's eyes and widened a fraction before falling to their 'I don't care' position. The teen quickly ducked into the man's pocket and felt the heat of Mr. Stark's glare on him as he shook. Everything was just too overwhelming, too hot, too enclosed! He had to cover his ears and wince when the man's heart sped up. "You two, come with me. Ms. Sanders? Please take over the tour from here. I have to go have a word with these two." Peter felt bad for his friend, knew he would probably be geeking out, but so scared he would either faint or wet himself. "Mr. Iron Man, sir, please-" "Nu-uh! Me first. Tell me what you saw?" Peter let loose a low whining noise.Make the noises stop! "I-I think I saw my best friend's face...in your pocket." "No," said the girl said. "We know we saw Peter's face in your pocket." Tony froze. "You two...know Peter?" He looked down and noticed something wasn't right. Peter was curled up on the bottom of his pocket, eyes squeezed shut and his hands over his ears while he muttered something. "Peter? What's wrong?" The man noticed every time he spoke, the boy would flinch. Tony then in turn, cursed and turned Peter's friend. "What you see here, does not leave here, got it?" Ned and MJ nodded and followed Mr. Stark as he walk-ran through the building into what looked like a laboratory. "Bruce!" Tony cried, his voice echoing through the room. "BRUCE!" He reached into his pocket and brought the tiny teen out and laid his curled up form on the table, keeping his hand over him to keep him warm. "Tony? What is it?" Banner's eyes went to the kids behind the man, to his hand covering a whimpering Peter. "What happened?" "I don't know!" Tony's voice was panicked. "Peter, come on, bud, you've gotta tell me something. Is it another overload?" Banner had come up with a name for the attack that happened last time in the lab, calling it a Sensory Overload. The small head nodded. "Okay, okay. Friday, lights to ten percent." The room was thrown into almost blackness, leaving just enough light for everyone to see each other. "Is...is he gonna be okay?" Ned asked, wincing when a whimper came from under Mr. Stark's hand. MJ took a step forward and knelt to see her friend more clearly and smiled. "Hey there, tiny loser," she whispered. Peter smiled weakly. "Yeah, we just have to be quiet for a while." Bruce smiled at the teen, then sent a confused look to Tony, who shook his head. They waited in the dark for at least thirty minutes before Peter tapped MJ's finger, which was nearest to him. "You okay?" Tony crouched down next to the girl to look at the teen on his level, disregarding the glare he got. Peter nodded, but flinched at the movement. "I-I think so," he said lowly, his voice tired. "Just, don't turn the lights up, yet, please." Ned suddenly shifted forward. "Peter?" he whispered, placing his hands near his friend. "What...what happened?" The brunette looked up into a face he hadn't seen in seven months. "Hey Ned. It's um...it's kind of hard to explain, but just know that Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are trying their hardest to fix me." "Is, is this where you've been the entire time you were missing?" Ned's eyes were wider, if that were possible, as he leaned in to stare at his best friend. He couldn't believe he was looking at Peter! The boy laying on the table was no more than three inches tall, and the scrawny, lanky teen he knew was basically gone, replaced by someone who looked like he trained every day for hours. MJ narrowed her eyes at Mr. Stark for a minute. "You can tell us the truth, Peter. Do we need to take you out of here?" If his rights were being taken away due to his size, she would shut this place down. "No! I..I was taken by some pretty bad people, who did this to me. But, Mr. Stark and the Avengers rescued me from there. That's all you need to know." The girl nodded and stood, but kept her eyes on the man. "It seems as if you speak of him highly. I have my doubts, but if you say he's okay, then I believe you." Ned nodded and sniffled, wiping his nose on his hand. "I missed you, man." Slowly, he brought his hand out in a fist, and Peter smiled as he did the same. Tiny and giant fists bumped before they both did an explosion. "We all thought you were dead. Flash actually spoke at your remembrance at school! Flash!" Peter sat up slowly. "No way! I thought he hated me!" His friend laughed. "Actually, it was pretty nice for it being Flash," MJ said. "I didn't buy it." "You know, as much as I hate to break up this reunion, you need to get back to your class, Ted." Mr. Stark's voice cut into their conversation, making them jump. "Oh yeah! Mr. Daniels probably thinks we did something wrong!" Ned's eyes grew worried. "But, are you alright Peter?" Tony scoffed in the background, but Banner put a hand on his chest and shook his head. "Yeah, Ned. I'm fine here. As you saw, they take care of me pretty well, and I owe them pretty much my life. But, thanks, man. I really do appreciate that I can maybe call you guys now?" Peter turned to Mr. Stark, who had the lights raised a little, and set his trademark puppy dog eyes on him. "Please, Mr. Stark?" "Jeez, kid, what did you just finish telling your aunt? You're not a prisoner here. You can call whoever you want." "So...does that mean Peter can leave?" "Unfortunately, no," Dr. Banner said with a sigh, looking at the young girl. "You see, the group that did this to him, wants him back. Badly. And, if you saw the news last week, you can see what they're willing to do to get Peter." "Oh yeah! I saw you go all Hulk on the bad guys, gotta say, awesome Dr. Banner." Ned was in his glory. Bruce looked down. "Yeah, thanks." "All right, enough with the hero worship. I have to get you back to the group, and you have to get somewhere safe for the remainder of the day that isn't in a lab. The things I do for you people." "Mr. Stark," Peter said just as said man grabbed him. "Please don't put me in your pocket again. I had an overload because your voice was too loud and it got way too hot!" "Well, I'm sorry, but I have nowhere else to put you, and put that fanny pack down, Bruce, or I swear I will lock you out of all the labs for a month." Bruce smirked and put the bag down. "Just a suggestion." "Fine, you can go here." He reached down to his flap pocket and gently deposited the teen into it. "Just no coming out fully, got it? You already caused one person to see you. We're just lucky he happened to be a friend of yours." Peter's face went red as he was dropped into Mr. Stark's pocket, landing not so softly on the bottom. "I said I was sorry!" he shouted, but didn't receive a reply. The teen was left to pout as Mr. Stark walked, the bouncing a little much, but he had to deal with it.