AN EXTRA CHAPTER!!!
Like I say below... I got inspired. So... Here you go! I already have Chapter 5 done, but you probably won't get it until Saturday. I want to have a backup in case something happens, but enjoy this for now!
WARNING: Some SUPER poetic stuff in here...
Peter's POV
The next few days were absolute torture. Literally.
Every day that Mr. Stark didn't come with what they wanted, whatever it was, Douglas would hurt me more and more.
His rule, was that everyday he didn't come, I got 20 extra cuts. After 5 days, it added up to 100 cuts, each one being excruciating. Sometimes, he would do 50 lashes instead, but either way, I was miserable. He stopped at 100 cuts, knowing that any more could cause me to bleed to death, which he didn't want. He still saw me as valuable.
I only got to eat one small meal a day, and with my fast metabolism, I was getting just enough food to survive. I was used to missing a meal a day every once and a while because of Flash, but this was insane. The hunger was like nothing I had ever felt before. It felt like something was eating and tearing and ripping at my stomach 24/7. I was sure the pain would've kept me up all night if I wasn't so exhausted from blood loss, sedatives, and just the physical toll everything was having on me.
It had been a full week since Douglas filmed the video. Mr. Stark still hadn't come, but I knew he was just still trying to figure out where I was, or what Douglas wanted. At least, that's what I hoped.
At this point, I had mostly gotten over May's death, or that's what I thought. I knew it might be because of all the awful things happening that her passing was the least of my worries, but I figured it was better to let myself get over it. When all this stuff was over, then I could grieve, but I had some other priorities at the moment.
Douglas entered the room again, snapping me out of my thoughts, which I had realized had become quite depressing...
I had gotten a new "room" yesterday. This one was no nicer than the last except for the poor excuse for a bed in the corner. I was never restrained anymore, mainly because I was just tok weak to hold myself up, so I guess they thought I could have an actual bed, rather than a chair with restraints.
"Stark still hasn't come." Douglas spoke. "Disappointing. I don't believe we've had todays punishment?" He said. It sounded like a question, but it was clear he wasn't asking. "What do you think? Should it be worse today?" He asked. I just hung my head and swallowed silently. I hadn't been allowed to speak much, and when I did it just resulted in punishment, so I wasn't used to being asked questions.
"ANSWER ME!" He shouted, slapping me harshly.
"No, s-sir." I stuttered fearfully, not taking my eyes off of the floor. I knew he was just playing with me, and that if he asked if it would be worse, it would, most definitely, be worse. No matter what I answered. I had learned that if I was allowed to speak, I was always supposed to call or address him as sir. I had learned that quickly.
"No?" He asked amused. "Really? I disagree." My mind shattered. Something terrible was about to happen. Something painful. "Clearly Stark is learning nothing. We don't want to send him another video. It took us a long time to stop him from finding our location with that last one. We don't want to go through that trouble again. Besides. He doesn't need to be here for us to hurt you." Douglas said, crouching down to my level and looking me in the eyes, which were still directed to the floor.
He stood up suddenly, and left the cell, letting the door close with a loud "BANG!"
A couple minutes passed, when suddenly the door swung open again, only to reveal the two men who had helped torture me last week.
Instinctively, I backed up against the wall, earning a few creaks from the bed, but as soon as I had no further to go, I just stared at the men's feet, breathing deeply.
"Stand up." one of the men spoke harshly. His voice was deep, and reminded me of what I thought a cyclops might sound like. Huh.
I reluctantly obeyed, and did nothing as the men handcuffed my hands behind my back. I half expected them to put a bag over my head, but they didn't, which I was grateful for.
They lead me through a seemingly endless number of halls, adding up to far too many to keep track of. I guess that's why they didn't blindfold me.
Eventually, I was lead into a dark room, with what looked like a large assortment of knives on the wall. My mind immediately filled with fear, though my heart remained cold and empty like the eye of a storm. Everything around it is absolute chaos and destruction, though the small area in which there is peace allows a short break, a false sense of security that will only trick you into letting down your guard, so that when the eye passes, the storm hits you even harder.
"When did I become so poetic?" I thought to myself.
"Shall we begin?"
Tony's POV
I sat in bed, my blankets becoming ruffled and messy from me shifting so often. I just sat on the edge, thinking to myself of why I hadn't been able to find Peter yet. I knew the answer was obvious. So obvious that we had all looked right over it.
Like when you're reading, and you skip over a long paragraph that looks boring, even though it might hold all the answers you've been looking for, yet you read through the even longer paragraphs filled with tricky, action packed things that satisfy you for only a moment, because you soon realize there is nothing to make you care.
The only difference, however, was that I had no control.
None at all.
I just had to keep looking, and looking, and looking until I found the answers in the same thing I had looked over for the past week.
I didn't even know if there were answers.
As soon as that thought popped into my mind, I knew I was wrong.
Of course there was an answer. There had to be.
Someone had gone through all that trouble just to make sure I couldn't find out where Peter was by tracking the video we were sent, but left us with a coded message to supposedly help us find him.
They also wanted something.
Of course they would have an answer for me to find. They knew I would find it eventually... They just wanted to toy with me. Make me see my kid in pain.
When did he become my kid?
I asked myself.
I knew the answer to that too. From the moment I met him, something about him just hooked me immediately. He's like a good book. You can never get enough. It doesn't take long for you to care, and you need more.
It didn't matter how much Clint teased me about how much of a dad I was becoming. It didn't matter how much my company suffered.
It didn't matter if I had to die to save this kid. My kid.
"Boss, the others want to see you in the living room." Friday's voice spoke.
I sighed, and pushed myself off the bed, ignoring the dull ache in my muscles. undoubtedly coming from my exhaustion. I had hardly slept since Pete went missing, and seeing that video didn't help in the slightest.
When I reached the living area, I saw all the Avengers, and a boy about Peter's age sitting on the couches. I immediately recognized him as Peter's friend Ned.
Pete had brought him to the tower a couple of times to build legos, which Clint usually joined in on. If Shuri was around, her, Pete, and Ned would make some "Upgrades" that usually ended in lasers, flying death stars, and AWESOME sound effects and holograms, while the three quoted vines.
MAN, I missed that kid.
"Hey Ned." I said quietly as I was sitting down. "What brings you here?"
"W-Well, um... Ms. Romanoff sent me a copy of the note. The one about Peter. And um... I think I might have figured it out..."
A/N
Word Count: 1495
😭 HAPPY TEARS!!!!!! Chapter Four is out! I hope you guys are just as excited as I am!!! Let me know some things you'd like to see in this story! (Sorry... No Spideypool. There's already plenty of those out there) :(
ANYWAY
This has definitely been a super busy week for me. We hung out with family a lot, and then with Christmas, and all that stuff. We also went to visit some family a couple hours away from us so... Yeah.
I got my motivation back in a strangely powerful wave... I can't promise it'll stay, but I'll still try to update once a week at the least. So... Yay?
Anyway... Again...
I got super poetic and stuff in this chapter... WHY? I don't know. I guess it came with my motivation wave? Let me explain.
I am planning on writing a screenplay during 2021. I have a plot idea, and I guess thinking about it just made me super inspired. I starting watching my FAVORITE writing Youtube channel (Abbie Emmons) and read the first chapter of her book 100 Days of Sunlight. I guess I became poetic... Nice. I'll make sure to update you guys on how the screenplay is going throughout the year!
Sorry if this seems like there is some sexual stuff going on... I PROMISE it's not... I just want Douglas to seem like a creepily calm person with a short temper, who speaks softly in a mocking way. If it comes off differently, I am SO SORRY.
Here are some pictures of me being weird at the center of the universe.
(PLEASE NOTE that I am way more flexible now than in these pictures. The pants I was wearing were also super hard to move around in, which is why I look so bad doing the splits...)
Anyway... After that super weird group of pictures with no real purpose, I guess I'll see you next time? Bye!
-26joshaw