Chapter 3

"Hey kid," Tony hummed as he rushed about his lab. Metal clinked against each other as he pushed circuit boards to the side, and as nuts and bolts fell to the floor. But the brunette paid them no mind as he focused his attention to the phone. "I need you to pick up now. I did NOT give you the new Stark Phone for you to forward me to voice mail. Not. Allowed. That's the adult talking by the way."

Still no answer came. Tony sighed, rolling his eyes and hung up for the third time in fifteen minutes. The kid was so going to get it when he got there. He was already two hours late, and NO BODY is late to a meeting with Tony Stark. Absolutely not. Completely unacceptable. Tony was the one that was late, never anyone else. That was not how this works.

"Alright Dum-E..."Tony groaned slipping into the soft leather chair that formed perfectly around his body. It was, perhaps, a sign that the genius spent far too much time in said chair, but he wasn't planning to stop today. "I'll give him five minutes..." He leaned his head back into the rest of the chair and grunted resting his eyes.

Exactly three minutes and fifteen seconds later, he reached out for his phone. His thumb hit the second speed dial number, and he waited as the phone rang once more. He swore up and down that if Peter didn't answer this time, then he was going to have FRIDAY run a scan through Karen, because if the kid was out in the suit and not answering...well...Could he even ground the teenager? He was sure he could if he called May first.

"Hello?" Peter grunted finally answering. His voice was muffled and exhausted sounding. "Mr. Stark? Wassup?"

"What's up? Peter, you were supposed to be here like two hours ago..." Tony scolded annoyed. He almost crossed his arms over his chest like a child, but he was the adult right now. "I called you like five times! Why didn't you answer? Do I need to have FRIDAY scan you?"

"Mr. Stark," Peter groaned softly, his end of the line crackled a moment as the teenager began to sit up. "I've been here for like two and a half hours. I was waiting on you to let me into the lab but you didn't...so I.." The teenager yawned heavily into the reciever. "So I took a nap."

"I...you've...what?" Tony huffed crossing his arms over his chest. Okay, that was enough adulting for one day. "What do you mean you've been waiting? FRIDAY never told me you were here!"

"Actually," The british voice cut through the echoing lab efficiently. "I did...three times in fact. But you were far too invested in your latest invention. You told me to leave you alone and only alert you for an emergency."

"I...what?"

"She's right," Peter hummed through the phone. He was all too smug about the situation. "I even knocked."

"I...Whatever! Get your little webby self down here! We're already behind!" Tony Stark was infamous for many things, his ego being one of them. And so, he would be damned to admit he was wrong about something. Peter, however, was not above gloating, and he did so the entire way up to Tony's lab.
Tony, however, had managed to zone out and ignore the teenager for the most part, bantering at appropriate moments, but forcing his focus back to the task that was under way. His fingers moved deftly, and swiftly across the wiring board that Tony had connected to the hologram before him. He glanced up every so often to check the coding that scanned and scattered across the screen.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter popped up beside him, his eyes still red rimmed from the sleep that buried itself in the corner of his eyes.

"What, Peter?" Tony hummed keep his focus. He could hear the exhaustion in the teenagers face, but even still it didn't really register with his mind. His focus was all on the circuit board in front of him and the coding error that had showed up on Karen's database at some point during the past few days. It had been on his radar ever since, and using the kid's visit as a buffer, Tony meant to spend time fixing it.

"Do I uh..." He yawned heavily dragging a hand across his eyes groggily. "Does the air smell a bit funny to you?" He sniffed the air cautiously glancing around. His pupils had, at some point, blown to nearly three times their size, and the glossy effect was slightly alarming. But the kid had only recently woke up from an impromptu nap.

"No," Tony frowned straightening up, allowing himself to drop the chip board. "FRIDAY, anything leaking in here?"

"No signs of Stark Industry equipment leaking, boss. But there is--"

"There ya go, kiddo." Tony hummed waving the arachnid off with a flourish of his wrist. "FRIDAY says the area is clean and leak free. Maybe you should just go and sleep it off, yea?" Tony turned pushing the magnifying goggles off his nose, instead resting them atop his head. "You been sleeping okay?"

"Perfectly fine, Mr. Stark," Peter sighed dragging his hand over his face for the umpteenth time in ten minutes. Tony pursed his lips and arched his brow, ensuring he was wearing his most 'try again' face. Peter grimaced at the lack of luster behind his lie, but ultimately, his shoulders sagged and he lurched forward throwing his head into his hands. "Sorry Mr. Stark. That's a lie..." He brushed one hand up to ruffle his own hair.

"What's been going on kid?" Tony sat beside his intern leaning back on his hands. "I can't help if I don't know what's going on."

"It's Spiderman," The kid whispered quietly keeping his head down. His eyes scrunched close as he lurched forward again. "The senses and such...I've got a new one," He whispered, fingers digging into his scalp until they turned white under the strain. "I can't shut it off though. It's like... I know something is wrong. I feel it. Like I'm on edge all the time."

"You're stressed." Tony nodded quietly watching the young man beside him. "Spiderman is....he's part of you. It's not like you can turn him on and off. You're safe here kid. Go get some rest, you've had a rough month." The genius went to place his hand on Peter's shoulder, but pulled back at the last moment deciding it wasn't his place to do so.

He wasn't Peter's guardian, or father. There was no reason for him to be the one to comfort the boy when he felt like he was losing. It wasn't his job to be there and pick him up when he fell and scraped his knee—no matter how much that instinct that twitched in the back of his mind said.

Peter glanced up at him from behind his hand miserably. Heaving a sigh, he stood, his shoulders slumped as if he was disappointed. And, if Tony was honest with himself, he probably was. There was every reason for him to be disappointed. Life had dealt the kid the shittiest hand Tony had ever seen. Life and Karma literally owed the kid.

"Go...uh...Go get some rest on the couch kid. You probably need it." He sighed leaning forward to rest his own forearms on his legs. The more he seemed like a statue, the easier it was for him to keep his whits about him. No need to get off on some paternal tangent just because of some stupid hormone being released inside his head.

"Right," Peter nodded silently surging forward towards the door. It didn't open. "FRIDAY?" Peter questioned glancing to a corner of the room where he had always just assumed a sensor rested.

"I am sorry, Mr. Parker, I cannot allow you to leave at this moment." The synthetic voice buzzed over the intercom. "It seems that Spiderman is entering and needs to have a meeting with you."

All of the hairs on Peter's arms raised simultaneously. He glanced around before grabbing the red and blue suit and slipping it on. Tony jolted at the quick response to the code. Red lights began to flash inside the lab, followed by a separate synthetic voice calling out the alarm.

"Intruder. Alert." Each word was punctuated; each punctuation set off alarms inside Tony's chest as he glanced around for one of his marks.

"FRIDAY! Get me Mark 6." Tony glared around the room warily. There was no response from his AI. "Kid, don't do anything."

A loud beep began to resonate throughout the room, sending Peter to his knees with his hands over his ears. Too much. Tony frowned and jumped to his feet, only for the doors to be blown in by an explosion. The blast sent him flying back, and crashing into a pile of boxes that he wasn't even aware of.

"Shit," Tony growled rubbing his head. His ears rung violently in his own head, he could only imagine how Spiderman was feeling. "Spiderman!" He called struggling to get out of the confines of the box. "Don't do..." He grunted falling further into one of the boxes. "Don't do anything du--" Too late.

Spiderman sent one of the assailants flying over his head, and crashing through a window. If it had been Tony, he would have let the man fall, but Peter quickly webbed the man's chest, and tugged him back so he was dangling out the window. One down.

"Damnit," Tony cursed under his breath as he climbed out of the crates and cardboard. His wrist was sore, and probably either sprained or had a mild fracture. But he had to get FRIDAY back up, and to do that, he'd have to run straight through the middle of the onslaught. "Spiderman," Tony called watching the teenager dance about, giving no sign that his senses were dialed up at the moment.

"You shouldn't be worrying about him," A voice hissed beside Tony. Instinctively, Tony threw his elbow into the villain's gut—bad idea. Pain rippled up his arm, reaching its thin fingers into his shoulder and across his chest. Not good. Something sharp and pointy jabbed into his neck. A burn sizzled through his veins as whatever was inside the needle pulsed in time through his system. "Tsk, tsk." The voice hummed heavily. "I thought The Tony Stark would be harder to ta-ack!"

Tony was thrown back, his world spinning in time with the rolling motions of a clock hand. A clock hand? It ticked in time with seconds that hadn't seemed to pass, but passed all too quickly.

"Tony?" A hand found its way to his shoulder, gripping him softly. "Tony are you awake?" Bruce came into his swimming vision.

"Whaa?" Tony grunted, his word slurred with his swollen tongue. Cotton mouth was a problem he hadn't had since being utterly wasted at some frat party in his MIT years.

"Thank god," Bruce whispered pushing his bangs back from his head. "He's awake," He called over his shoulders. The increase in volume sent an ache pounding through his patients head, but as long as it was a good sign, Bruce would ignore it. "What do you remember Tony?"

"Spiderman," Tony slurred rubbing a hand over his face groggily. "He helped..."He groaned as something started to settle in his stomach—something not very nice feeling. Not nice by any means. The back of his throat began to salivate heavily, and it was like his tongue was swelling even more. "Sick," Tony floundered for purchase as he lurched forward, heaving whatever was inside his stomach.

"Easy, Tones," Bruce whispered softly, rubbing his hand in circles around Tony's back. He groaned heavily shoving his face further into the bucket that had been handed to him.

"How uh..." A second voice interrupted, and almost immediately settled Tony's stomach. Spiderman huddled into the corner of the room, his hands crossed self consciously as he huddled into himself. Leave it to the brat to make himself smaller than the rest of the crew. It was part of what made him so dangerous. "How is he?"

"He's good Spiderman," Bruce nodded to the mini-hero. "Probably just nauseated from the anesthesia, it's common." He smiled softly to the arachnid.

"Good," Spidey sighed softly sinking into a chair. "You oka--"

"No!" Tony growled jerking his head up, only to get dizzy. The room swayed and swam around him, but the sudden bubble of anxiety and worry over powered him. "No Spiderman. I am not okay, because...because you...You can't do that to me." Tony whispered slumping forward a hand came up to his head. "Jesus christ," He whispered brushing a hand through his hair. He didn't care if there was bile being spread through his locks at the same time. He was probably due for a shower anyway, but still.

"I...I'm sorry?" Spiderman whispered, the eyes of his mask widened in confused surprise. Hell, the kid didn't even know what he was apologizing for.

And for once, that was okay. Because as long as Spiderman apologized, he knew that Tony was mad. Mad was an emotion that Tony could work with. What he couldn't work with was the worry that had settled in his chest with the initial attack. He couldn't handle the thought of it being Spiderman in his shoes. What if they had been there for Spiderman? Tony wouldn't have been able to protect him. He would have had to watch as the group had swarmed the lab and did....did, jesus, Tony didn't even know. Spiderman had made sure they wouldn't get the chance to do anything more.

Groggily, Tony reached a hand out, grasping towards the teenager. Spiderman glanced up, awkwardly bouncing his leg, before making his way over to Tony. The billionaire reached out and tugged him close. His good arm wrapped around the boys waist as he rested his head on him shakily.

"Don't...Don't ever...I get it now..." Tony whispered allowing his eyes to slip shut.