I dropped to my knees, not even feeling the debris dig into my skin. Tears rolled down my face, and I let them.
Marceline had stolen two lives: first, Uncle Ben's, and second, Peter's. How selfish could she be?
I slowly wiped my tears as I heard approaching footsteps. I was an Avenger now; not a coward. I stood up and found myself looking into Steve's bright blue eyes. He looked at me worriedly.
Frowning, I let him check me over. "Listen to me- I'm fine. No major injuries, see?" I paused and let his eyes sweep over me once more. "And we'll find Peter soon, I p-promise..."
I bit my lip and felt fresh tears brimming in my eyes.
I gasped as Mr. Rogers wrapped me into a hug.
Then I realized he was just slinging me over his shoulder.
I creased my eyebrows but didn't struggle. "Hey, at least leave me my dignity!"
He ignored me and carried me down to the meeting room. This was the place, if I remember correctly, where I was first introduced to the Avengers.
Finally, Mr. Rogers set me down, along with a medical bag I hadn't noticed before. He grabbed the first aid kit and rushed to Black Widow's side. I looked over and gasped; her side was mangled and bloody, as if someone took a kitchen knife to it.
Her breathing was shallow and that got me worried. Who knew how much damage was done?
I quickly surveyed the rest of the room and found the rest of the team not in much better conditions.
Mr. Stark's face was bruised and his suit remnants were scattered throughout the room. Bruce had managed to not "go green" but he was in the corner, holding his head in his scarred hands and breathing heavily. Thor was trying to move some heavy scaffolding off of Hawkeye, who was unconscious and had at least three arrows buried deep in his torso. Fury was holding his arm and cursing quietly.
I must've looked horrified, because Mr. Stark turned to face me. "Don't ask, hon."
I could practically hear the desperation in his voice, so I grabbed him by the arm in an uncharacteristic show of disrespect and dragged him into an adjacent room. Slamming the door behind me, I let him sit down on the floor and glared at him.
"What happened to you guys out there?" I began. "You're supposed to be the freaking Avengers; not some wimpy, puny cowards. What happened to the team--"
Tony interrupted me, saying, "Listen, Ms. Spidey, it wasn't like that. We got... attacked. But it wasn't by--"
I took back the stage by interrupting the interrupter. "I don't care if it was a one-armed super soldier! You guys need to get yourselves back in the game! I don't even know what exactly happened, but I bet it would be pretty disappointing to those millions of fans out there."
He hung his head, toying with a stray piece of his iron suit. "You wouldn't."
I knew I was getting through to him! "Oh, yes, Tony, I absolutely believe I would."
Mr. Stark shot to his feet, a new fire in his eyes. "What if I made you a deal?"
I smirked. "Okay. Name your terms."
He got up carefully and took me by the shoulders, steering me out of the room and towards a rather nondescript door. The millionaire placed his palm in the very center of the metal slab, and a soft blue glow emanated outwards from it.
"Mr. Tony Stark," Jarvis' now-familiar voice rang out. "Welcome."
Suddenly, the seemingly solid door dissipated into the air and he led me through. Gaping in awe, I didn't even notice as the door resolidified behind me.
The room was a magnificent piece of high-tech work, the entire thing pulsing and humming, almost hypnotically. The soaring ceilings let in plenty of natural light through what were probably bulletproof windows.
Stark calmly walked over to what seemed to be the main control panel and began typing away furiously. I peeked over his shoulder and nearly jumped out of my skin as the fifty-inch screen glowed with light.
He turned back to me, a smirk on his face.
"Okay, kiddo," Tony said. "If I show you what happened, you'll never tell anyone what you saw. Ever. Understood?"
I pursed my lips. "Simple as that?" I asked, suspicious. "No catch? Are you sure?"
Mr. Stark grinned, and I knew the deal was sealed.
Cracking his knuckles, he spun back to the keyboard and pressed one button. It was a big green one, with the word "ENTER" stamped on it.
A video, probably from some security camera, began to play.
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<·<Pepper_B_Parker*Alias:_Spyder*Position:_S.H.I.E.L.D._agent>·>
Fun Fact That You Probably Already Know: Mr. Stark loves to bargain.
And if you're smart, you can use it to your advantage.