Family Secrets

Found

"You sure about this?"

Steve stared at his friend as the two men got ready for the mission today. The team was planning on getting Peter today, just after dark. It wasn't going to be easy. This was, by far, one of the most difficult missions they would be facing.

Not only was Tony, Natasha, and Stephen emotionally involved in a way they had never been before (the three were typically relatively apathetic towards their missions, seeing them as jobs and not much else), there was also very little information to go off of. They were going in blind, and the rest of the family was picking up a lot of slack to make up for Tony, Natasha, and Stephen's emotional turmoil.

"I- I think we're out of options," Steve sighed. "We can't leave him there, and we can't keep looking for information we know isn't there. It's not a perfect solution, but we can get Peter back."

Bucky shook his head slightly, as if he didn't believe a word coming out of Steve's mouth. "You can be scared, you know. I know we've all been putting on a brave face for Tasha and Tony and whoever else might need it, but... you get to be human, Steve."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You keep stepping up and making the plans, pretending you aren't terrified for Peter, terrified of this girl who can take down a strong superhero, interrupt Strange's portal, and keep us off her tracks! But you are. I can tell. I am your best friend, Steve, I can tell when you are struggling."

The two men settled back into silence, Steve unsure of what to say now, and Bucky feeling self conscious from his outburst.

"I'm just worried." Steve almost didn't hear it, it was so soft. For a moment, he thought he may have imagined it, until he saw his friend run a hand over his lightly blushed face.

"I have never been more scared in my life, Buck," the blond man sighed, letting his facade fall. His friend looked up, startled at the sudden change in attitude. "I am scared for Peter, I'm scared that HYDRA was involved, I'm scared for Tony and Pepper if Peter is- I-"

Steve stopped, willing the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes to retreat back into his eyes. A few deep breaths helped, and he continued.

"I'm scared that I won't be able to pull this off, I'm scared we'll be wrong, that we'll get the wrong guy and Peter will be lost. I'm scared of-" Bucky cut him off with a hug. It was an unusual show of affection, though the two had been trying to be more honest with each other. It was a steep learning curve.

"Listen, I've got your back. And I will always have your back. So let's go get Peter back, yeah?"

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

The team made their way through the quiet neighborhood. It was nice, not the kind of place you would guess a torturing maniac would live.

They stopped in front on the house, Bucky and Steve splitting up the team. Natasha, Clint, Sam, and Bucky were going to take the back door. Steve, Strange, T'Challa, and Wanda would come through the front. Tony would wait for a signal from with Sam or Strange, when the coast was clear, and then go in through a basement window to get Peter. Once Peter was out, the rest of the team would go in for Liz.

Tony waited patiently, or as patiently as he could. He paced lightly. He saw Sam come up behind the house and give him the all clear. Stepping back, the billionaire aimed his blasters at the window, blasting a hole into the wall large enough to fit himself through.

The basement was impossibly dark, Wanda had warned him that it would be, but he hadn't expected this. It was cold and grimy, reminding Tony of a cave.

There was a chair and a table in the middle of the room. The table was covered in instruments, each one covered in dried blood. The chair was also stained with blood.

Tony tried to focus on something else, forcing his brain to not think of what Peter had been through. He noticed a small, makeshift cell, made of cinder blocks and a solid steel door. It was welded together, made of what looked to be parts of a junked car.

Tony ripped the door open easily, stepping into the cell.

It was darker than the basement, a feat Tony thought to be impossible. It was also colder. There was a small huddle in the corner, and Tony assumed that was his son. Deactivating his suit, he ran towards the boy.

Peter looked awful. He was thin, scarily thin. His face was gaunt with lack of sleep, and his body was covered in cuts, bruises, welts, and burns. His face was pale, with a deep cut over his cheek.

"Peter," Tony breathed. His son stirred. Through tired and bloodshot eyes, the boy looked around his cell in confusion, blinking at the light around him.

His eyes finally settled on his father. "Dad?" Peter's voice was rough.

Tony opened his mouth to speak, only to feel a sudden and sharp pain in his shoulder. The older man crumpled as a blade was twisted into his back. Liz stood over him, staring at Peter.

"You took everything from me, Peter. Now I'm finally getting to take something from you. I knew they'd come eventually." She laughed darkly before pulling Tony's collar back, making him fall backwards. She raised the knife and plunged it into the man's arc reactor, laughing at the hard crack.

"You'll lose your father, just like I lost mine," she spat at the weak teen in front of here.

"It'll take a while for this thing to fully shit down," Tony smirked. He put on a brave face, and a cock attitude, to throw Liz off, but Peter could see right through him.

"Oh?" Liz feigned a pout. "Then we'll have to speed up the process." She moved to plunge the knife back into Tony's body, aiming for his chest.

Peter felt his spider sense tingle, an unfamiliar feeling after being tortured and powerless for so long. He moved quickly, pushing himself with all his strength towards his father. He felt the knife pierce his back, and breathing became harder. Tony's screams of help made the teen's head pound, but his pain was more overwhelming. He knew he had a punctured lung.

Liz was dragged back by a banged up looking Steve, and Strange, Wanda, and Natasha came rushing forward to help Peter and Tony get out of the basement. There was fighting all through the house, but none of that mattered right now.

"Stephen, we need a portal, now!" Wanda's voice was panicked.

At first, Stephen protested, but when Peter began to black out, he quickly opened one, his insecurity forgotten.

"Come on, мои паук," Natasha cooed softly. "Stay with me."