It's a Spider Thing. {Peter Parker and Natasha Romanoff}

{45} problem child has arrived

THERE WAS ONLY A MOMENT of brief calm before all hell broke loose.

Together, Thor and Steve had snuck around the perimeter, keeping a low profile whilst taking out any rogue Hydra agents before they slowly closed in on the base. Tony had snuck off to the mainframe after the electric board was shut down curtesy of Jarvis- he was now currently searching through camera footage for any sign of Peter while Tony guided Clint, Natasha and Barney through the endless corridors; it was like a maze.

Then, an explosion sounded.

It rocked the entirety of the base, forcing dust to sprinkle down on the occupants within the building before a blaring alarm sounded- the small group winced at the noise. Instinctively, Barney and Natasha covered their ears while Clint turned his hearing aid down so that the alarm was nothing more than a dulled annoyance.

"Stark what the hell?" Natasha hissed into the comm set.

There was no response, just a litany of curse words which made Natasha's feeling of unease tighten in her chest. This was not going to plan; her hands fisted the back of Clint and Barney's jackets before she hauled them inside an abandoned lab in the nick of time. As the door closed behind them, a group of agents jogged past while readying their weapons.

Eventually, the alarm shut off and Barney leaned back against the door. He peered out of the small pane of glass at the top as the others moved about behind him.

Natasha checked the room, her eyes trailing over the lab equipment coming to the assumption that the room was a glorified storage cupboard. Beside her, Clint finally switched on his hearing aids again, "Stark, talk to us. Now." A hint of worry snuck into his voice for a moment before he quickly masked it and his face turned back into the usual unreadable look when he was on a mission.

Natasha joined his side, mirroring his expression. "We need to find Peter before they move him."

That small threat to their whole plan was enough to make Clint's eyes fix on the woman beside him as he straightened up. He didn't have to be a genius to see much more than Natasha wanted him to in that moment as they moved over to Barney and crouched below the glass pane. Her gaze was cast downwards, features carefully moulded to keep out all prying eyes- but Clint had become adept at being able to unpick that mask after so many years together. It was his second nature.

"We'll find him." He promised, words barely loud enough to be heard.

Natasha's eyes flicked to meet his. "The last time I saw him he was being torn away from me." She breathed, sparing Barney a single glance to find him staring out at the corridor. "I refuse to let it be the last time that I see him alive Barton." Natasha's face pinched at the thought.

Before Clint could formulate a response, Tony's comm came back to life and all three assassins paused as they listened with an ever-growing confusion until they heard the responding voice.

"You little shit."

"Tony it wasn't my fault technically-"

"You want to talk technicalities? I told Jarvis it was for life threatening circumstances."

"Exactly! It was life threatening-"

"A fire you caused was life threatening, really? Dum-E could have put it out. He did."

"Technically it's Jarvis' fault-"

"Excuse me?" Came Jarvis' voice, cutting between the two quarrelling humans.

"I take that back." Harley rushed out.

Despite the situation, Natasha couldn't help the quirk of her lip at the persistence lacing the teenager's voice. However, it quickly faded away when she heard rounds of gunfire; her thoughts instantly switched to Thor and Steve. There was a heavy sigh over the comm system before Tony finally addressed the still waiting group.

"Problem child has arrived; saved Cap's ass too but it made a huge explosion-"

"Language Tony." Steve responded, "And thanks kid."

All three of them breathed a simultaneous silent sigh of relief.

"Come on, let's get moving again, we've stayed in one place too long." Clint stated, shouldering his way past Barney. He rolled his eyes in retaliation while Clint shrugged and poked his head out of the lab, making sure that the coast was clear before he gestured for the rest to follow him.

He unsheathed his bow and arrow as they slowly began walking back through the corridor, listening attentively to Tony's instructions.

-

The sound of the alarm had barely been noticeable to Peter.

He'd just continued to stare ahead at his cell, his mind wandering far away- it was just another dull, indiscernible sound in the background. But then the explosion happened.

Peter felt the dust fall against his skin and clog his lungs. He saw the walls tremble and shake from the impact but never give in. Suddenly a red light was basking his room and on instinct Peter sunk to the corner of his cell, his knees drawn up tight to his body in an attempt to make himself as small as possible and keep out the inevitable blows.

They'd started using lights to alert Peter when they were coming. His chest heaved and jittered, moving with his irregular breathing at the mere thought of seeing any scientists or Hydra guards.

When would the pain stop?

The question had been on a constant loop in his mind for weeks, and if Peter had had the energy- hadn't become numb to the surrounding world in an effort to minimise the pain- he was sure he would have cried and cried and never stopped. The last experiment had almost killed him, leaving behind faint remnants of a power that moved under his skin, like an itch he could never scratch.

It terrified Peter more than he would ever admit. Spider powers were one thing. But wisps of something else... magic? Peter shook his head- he didn't want it.

He just wanted peace. Even if it came at the price of his life. 

A/N

Ok. Harley's arrival? My favourite thing. And naturally I had to get in " language". Also! The magic power is a little prompt in case I ever want to do a sequel :)

Anywho! Let me know of any spelling mistakes! xoxo.