Broken Hero

The greatest gift

Peter rested against the wall, his legs sprawled out in front of him. He lifted his shaking hand a couple of inches to close the door, leaving him just far enough away that it wouldn't hit him if it was opened. His chest heaved as he tried to breathe through the pain burning through his battered body. He definitely wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

Not that he could go anywhere. He didn't have the strength to Spider-Man his way out of his window. And May and her brother were just down the hall in the living room. He could hear them talking; his enhanced hearing allowed him to pick up every word. They were talking about him.

Sometimes, having enhanced senses was a blessing. They helped him immensely during patrols, and his spider-sense warned him of coming danger and possible threats, like Flash or a mugger. But being hypersensitive to his surroundings, accompanied by an extremely enhanced metabolism, had its downfalls.

The blood dripping from his lips, jutting rib cage, and gurgling stomach were painful reminders of this. He couldn't remember a time when he wasn't constantly shaky or afraid of being hit. A time where hunger didn't constantly gnaw at his insides and he didn't have to fight so hard just to survive.

He got his powers well over a year ago, but even they couldn't help him stand up to May. Not when she was the last family member he had. Not when she kept a roof over his head despite his forthcomings and her extreme hatred of him.

Rick's husky voice cut through his jumbled thoughts. It was hard to think straight with how dizzy he felt, but he grew alert at the mention of Tony Stark. "So, Richard never knew Peter was Stark's bastard child?" he asked.

"No," May rolled her eyes, "Mary never told him. Never told Stark either."

Mr. Stark doesn't know? He doesn't know I'm his son.

Peter's eyes widened in shock before pain flooded his system again, causing him to curl up in a ball as best he could. She lied. Of course she did. Twisted the truth Ben had told him so long ago. God, he should have expected that. Why would she tell me the truth? And he couldn't even do anything about it.

Anger briefly flared through him, only to be cut short by cold fear when he heard a small bang in the kitchen. How was he supposed to be angry at them when they'd punish him at the slightest sign of defiance? He didn't have the energy to sustain anger, as deserving as was.

He flinched at another small bang. One of them was in the kitchen, doing something or other. Hopefully, they wouldn't get bored and give him another beating. Rick's were even worse than May's. Last time he'd had at least three broken ribs, with another two fractured. The man was much stronger than May and he never seemed keen on holding back.

His door slammed open and he flinched, staring at the ground. It was May's feet he saw, not Rick's. Relief flooded through him, albeit briefly. Anything she did was better than Rick coming after him.

She bent down as the front door closed. His shoulders sagged in relief. Rick was gone. She ordered, "Clean the dishes."

"Yes, ma'am."

******

Tony sighed heavily as he slumped back in his chair. This was a nightmare. The team was falling to pieces. First, it was the accords, and then Steve's long lost buddy decided to go rogue and blow the United Nations meeting sky-high. This resulted in a dead king of a mighty and advanced country and both super-soldiers being taken into custody.

"You know I only signed those damn papers to keep the team safe," he spoke into his empty lab, his voice echoing. "I was trying to prevent this."

"I know, boss." FRIDAY's smooth, slightly robotic voice answered. "Might I suggest getting some sleep. You have been up for approximately forty-eight hours."