IronDad/SpiderSon One-shots

Crushed (for a second time?)

Third Person POV:
Word Count: 1,391
Spooktober 2022 Day Ten: Concrete

"Peter, you are in imminent danger. The building structure is failing and is bound to collapse at any given moment."

Karen's voice was loud in Peter's head. It sent shivers down his spine as it reverberated in his head. Suppressed memories tried to claw their way to the front of Peter's brain, but he wouldn't allow that. He just took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand.

What was the task at hand? Well, it was kind of a long story. Peter was patrolling, like usual, when Karen scanned structural damage to a building after a bomb was set off inside of it. The building was already unstable when he arrived, but there were still people inside. He had gotten them all out. He had even gotten the pets. Still, there was a young girl, not even five, who was crying because she forgot her favorite teddy bear inside. The parents tried to calm her down and explain, but she was so heartbroken. Peter couldn't stand it. With a promise to save the teddy bear, he ran back inside of the building.

The problem was that with the structural damage of the building, it was hard to tell what some of the room numbers were. All he knew was that the family had lived on the second floor. He had three teddy bears in hand, scavenging for more. He had no idea which one was hers, but he was determined to get the teddy bear.

"You need to leave the building immediately." Karen's voice was stern. Much more stern than Peter had ever heard her before.

Peter didn't listen. He headed towards the last apartment. "I'll be fine, Karen. I just need to check one more." He walked into the apartment, looking for any sign of a teddy bear.

Karen's silence was loud enough for Peter to know that this would be getting reported to F.R.I.D.A.Y. in the weekly report. Which meant that Peter would be getting stern talking to by Tony over the weekend. Something to look forward to, he guessed.

After a few minutes of searching, he discovered that there was no teddy bear inside of this apartment. "Well, that was fun. Time to get-"

Peter was cut off by the sound of crumbling concrete. Karen's warnings were correct. The building was collapsing. Peter started to rush out of the apartment, but it was no use. The building dropped on top of him quickly and he was covered in heavy, crushing concrete.

It was a flash of white to Peter. One second, he was just standing there. The next, he was being crushed. His brain immediately tried to shove the memory of the last time he was in a situation like this to the front of his brain, but he wasn't letting that happen. He shoved it away as hard as he could as he opened his eyes.

The three teddy bears were pressing into Peter's stomach. He couldn't really feel them. He couldn't feel anything but a crushing pain in his entire body.

"Peter, breathe deep. You're okay." Karen's voice was much more gentle than it had been a few minutes ago. "Emergency services are on the way."

There was no way Peter would be able to last that long underneath all the concrete. Absolutely no way. He'd spiral into a panic and probably pass out. He couldn't do that. He tried desperately to lift the building off of him, but he couldn't. He was stuck at an awkward angle and there wasn't much of anything that he could use to grip anything with. Whatever was crushing him was also heavy. A lot heavier than he remembers the other building being.

So, he did something that surprised Karen. And him. Honestly, it probably surprised everyone. "Karen, call Tony."

Without missing a beat, Karen replied. "Calling Tony Stark."

The phone started ringing in his suit. It wasn't even one ring before Tony came through. "Hey, kid. What's-"

Tony didn't get the chance to finish. Peter interrupted him. "Mr. Stark, I need your help."

"Kid? Where are you? Are you hurt? What's going on?" Tony's words were rushed. He could hear Tony's movements through the phone. He heard Tony get up and start walking. He was assuming towards his closest suit. Tony liked to jump to worst case scenarios. This time, Peter was thankful he was doing that.

"Well," Peter said. He inhaled. It felt like he was suffocating. His lungs didn't have much room to expand, and really, Peter felt like he was breathing through a straw. It hurt to breathe. "I don't really know where I'm at. Collapsed building in Queens." The silence on Tony's end of the phone was deafening. Peter cleared his throat. "I don't really know if I'm hurt, but the building is crushing me. I got stuck trying to find a teddy bear and now I can't get out. It's crushing me and-"

"Peter." Tony's voice stopped Peter. "Take a second to breathe, alright? You're fine. You're going to be fine." Suit repulsors could be heard. That was always a good sign. A very, very good sign. "I won't even be two minutes, okay? I'll be there before you know it, kid."

Despite Tony's reassurance, Peter couldn't help it. His mind was slipping. "Please hurry," he said. His voice sounded scared, even to him. Of course he was scared. The last time he was in this position he was all alone. He had to get himself out of there and knowing he couldn't do that this time scared him. Not that he didn't trust Tony to save him. He just didn't like the fact that he didn't have the option to escape on his own.

Tony was still on the phone with him, but it was silent. No one was saying anything. Peter was too focused on breathing to talk. Tony was too busy flying and getting a scan of the area from F.R.I.D.A.Y. so that he could find the most effective and safest way to get Peter to safety.

As promised, it wasn't even two minutes before Tony responded. "Alright, kid. I'm going to start lifting some of the concrete off. Just keep still and whatever you do, don't move. Okay?" If Peter shifted, he could cause all the rubble to move in any direction. It could cause him to get hurt.

Don't move and sit still," Peter said. His voice sounded nervous, but he did exactly that. While Tony worked above to remove everything, Peter sat as still as he could and didn't move at all. The only movement was the small rise and fall of his chest. Even that wasn't much, since he couldn't really breathe all too well.

Peter could feel every piece coming off of him. It felt so nice and freeing. Soon, it was hardly anything at all. He could probably just lift it off himself, but he was doing what Tony told him to do. He was sitting still and not moving. Not until Tony told him he could.

It was when Tony finally removed the last piece covering Peter that he felt the most relief. "You're all good, kid." Peter didn't waste time sitting up. He wanted to just breathe freely and lie down on the ground, but he didn't. Instead, he grabbed the teddy bears and got as far away from the concrete as he could. Well, not really as far. Just past the danger zone.

Tony was monitoring Peter's vitals through F.R.I.D.A.Y. and Karen while Peter hunted out for this little girl. He had no idea what Peter was doing, but he knew it had something to do with the teddy bear. He was clutching the teddy bear to his chest like his entire life depended on it. That was until he found a short, blonde girl.

The girl's eyes lit up when she plucked her bear from Peter's arms. She grabbed the other ones and started bringing them to the other kids after she thanked Peter.

And, as promised, when Tony found out what exactly happened, he chewed Peter out for quite a little bit. But, in reality, he couldn't have been more proud of the kid.

And Peter couldn't be more proud of himself.

That's it for this chapter! Remember to drink some water, eat something, take medicine (if you have to), and rest today. You did a good job and I am proud of you :)
Till next time
- Storm