"So, you know your part, right?" Tony mumbles for the third time in the last two minutes.
"Yes, Mr. Stark." Peter emphasizes. He knows that Tony's brain is just working slowly, but repeating his answer several times is starting to grate on his nerves.
A few minutes later, the man walks into the room, grinning. "Well, hello you two!"
"You're peppy this morning." Tony rolls his eyes.
"Oh, yes." The man's grin widens. "Because today is a special day."
"Oh?" Tony stares straight forward at a blank wall.
"Today is the day that we spread our virus across the United States." The man creeps closer to Tony, lifting his face up with a long, slender finger. "I was thinking that maybe Ms. Potts would be a good first subject."
"Don't touch her." Tony snarls, jerking his chin off the man's finger.
"And what are you going to do?" The man laughs. "You're stuck in here, with no hope of getting out!"
"While that may be true," Tony's eyes dart to something behind the man's head. The man turns, but too late. Peter slams a metal tray down on top of the man's head. He crumbles to the ground, not unconscious, but severely disoriented and in pain.
"Dang, Pete!" Tony laughs, high fiving Peter gently. Peter grins before turning back to the man.
"How do we get out of here?"
"Like I would tell you." The man snorts. Peter raises the tray menacingly. "I don't think that I need to remind you about my strength, or my very detailed knowledge of pressure points on the human body. I know exactly where to hit you in order to give you an immense amount of pain."
"He's not fooling around." Tony adds with a wink. The man looks between the two of them, trying to decide if he's going to believe them before sighing and saying, "Take the hallway all the way down. Two lefts, then a right. The exit will be at the top of the stairs."
"How do we know you're not lying?" Peter stares down at the man skeptically.
"I guess you'll just have to trust me." The man shrugs. Peter's spider senses raise the hairs on his arms and he sees the man reaching for something in his coat pocket. In a quick, fluid movement, Peter has the item in his hand, leaving the man looking dumbfounded.
"But... how?" He whispers as Peter weighs the gun in a hand.
"Where's the lab?" Tony says, struggling to his feet.
"The first door to your left in the third hallway." The man shakes his head as Peter hands Tony the gun and searches the man further. He comes back with two dimes, a pack of gum, and a wallet. He flips open the wallet to see the driver's license, and stares at the man with a raised eyebrow as he does so.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Wallace." He says, pocketing the wallet. The man makes a small noise crossed between a whimper and a growl, but says nothing.
Tony watches the man as Peter tears strips of the blanket to tie him up. They use two strips per wrist, and tightly bind him to the rod iron bed. They use the thicker strips to tie his feet to the end.
"Have fun with that." Tony smiles down at the man. "Believe me, once you're tied to a bed, it's hard to get out. Toodle ooh!" He waves at the man before disappearing out the door with Peter. They sprint down and through the hallways, careening to a stop at the third hallway. Peter can practically smell the fresh air, and it's driving him nuts. Still, they can't keep going. The virus needs to be destroyed before they can leave.
"I don't know what to expect, kid, so you follow behind me." Tony cocks the gun and swings the door open. As he ducks his head in, he sees rows upon rows of purple liquids simmering in pots, bowls, and anything else that can contain liquid.
"There's no one in here." He whispers behind him, flipping on the lights, but not dropping the gun.
They weave through the rows, staring at each container of the virus. The first thing they do is to turn off the burners, watching as the bubbles on top of the liquid boil down to nothing. They stare at the drain in the middle of the floor, and nod at each other.
Peter's heart pounds in his chest as he dumps each container of the virus down the drain. He can't help but think that someone is going to walk through the door at any moment and put them right back in the cell. All it does is cause him to work faster, quickly pouring every drop down the drain.
"Is that the last of it?" Tony comes to Peter, wiping his hands on his pants. His shirt is soaked with something, either sweat or the liquid. Peter decides not to ask.
"I'm finished." He says, glancing longingly towards the door. "Now what?"
"We need to get out of here, before someone catches us." Tony gently pushes Peter towards the door. He holds the gun out in front of them, and they move back down the hallway.
As promised, after the last turn, the stairwell leading upwards greets them. They eagerly turn onto it, not paying attention to their surroundings. Peter's hairs raise on his arms and he turns around just as the man behind them fires the gun. The bullet strikes Peter's leg, grazing it and embedding itself in the wall behind him.
Peter crumbles to the ground, tasting a small amount of blood in his mouth. A scream mixed with a whimper slides through his mouth. Another gunshot rings through the air, but this is one is from Tony's gun. Then, silence. Tony kneels next to Peter, staring at the teen's face and gently touching his leg.
"Ah, ah." Peter winces as a new wave of pain passes through him from the touch. "Don't, gah, touch." Everything seems to be swimming, and his head pounds in sync with the pulsing in his leg.
"Kid, I know that it hurts, but do you think that you can go for ten more steps?" Tony says desperately. He keeps looking over his shoulder. Gosh, what's he going to do? He's in no position to carry the kid, and any other men within the hallways surely heard the gunshots and are on their tail right now. Peter lays there, his breathing ragged and his eyes shut tight.
Suddenly, the large metal door in front of them starts to shudder before being ripped off its hinges. Tony closes his eyes at the dust flying before opening them. In front of him is the best thing that he's ever seen in his entire life.
"Well, well." The man in front of Tony laughs. "If it isn't Tony Stark." He extends a hand, and Tony grins up at the tall man. "Took you long enough, Captain Stars-and-Stripes." Captain America rolls his eyes, but looks at Peter.
"What's with the kid?"
"His leg got shot." Tony says. "I can't carry him, is everyone else here?" Steve nods, and carefully picks up Peter. He cups his ear, and speaks. "Hey, Clint? You and Natasha need to come for ground support. We have an injured man down here, and I need backup." A voice speaks indistinguishably over the intercom and Steve nods, before leading Tony away.
They end up walking about a half mile before Tony needs to rest.
"You look like crap." Steve says, smiling as they sit on the ground. Tony takes in deep breaths, staring at Steve. "Hey, you wouldn't look much better after being stuck in a dungeon for... how many days were we gone?"
"Almost a week and a half." Steve says, avoiding eye contact.
"Well, that's great." Tony rolls his eyes. "Have you guys been here the entire time?"
"We were trying to figure out where you were. Plus, the surviving locals needed help getting their supplies figured out."
"Are we good to leave as soon as possible?"
"Yeah. We just need to get to the jet." Steve gets back to his feet and Tony follows suit. They reach the jet within a few minutes, and Tony slumps into a seat upon arrival.
"Did they do something to you?" Steve says, gently setting Peter down so his head is in Tony's lap.
"They injected me with a virus." Tony coughs, petting Peter's hair slightly. "I've been extremely weak and sick the past few days."
"Thank goodness we have Banner." Steve says, cupping his head over his ear again. "Clint, what's your status?" Tony can hear gunshots crackling over the comm, but nothing that Clint says comes through.
"We're picking them up on the roof." Steve says suddenly, getting up and moving to the cockpit, where he flips the switches to start the jet. They pick up, and within a few minutes, they are hovering over the roof. Clint jumps into the open plane first, grabbing Natasha and pulling her in after him. Tony notices that she's cupping her arm and has a noticeable limp as she takes a seat across from Tony.
"Where's Banner?" Tony asks.
"We gotta go pick him up." Natasha says. "Good to see you again, Stark."
"The feeling is mutual." Tony smiles weakly. Natasha turns to Clint and says something quietly.
"What happened to you?" Clint says, staring at Tony and Peter. "And where'd the kid come from?"
"This is my kid, Peter." Tony says. Natasha nods slowly, before her face turns white and she grips her arm tighter.
Finally, the jet touches ground again, and Tony gets out to retrieve both Banner and his Iron Man suit. He finds the suit first, and sets to work trying to find a way to rip the metal clamped piece from the chest.
"Hey, don't touch that!" A familiar voice turns Tony from his work. Tony turns around with a grin, staring at his friend.
"Oh, hey Tony." Bruce says nonchalantly.
"Wanna help me get this tech dampener off my suit?" Tony grins, yanking on it. Bruce walks over and grabs it in his hands. With a twist and a pull, the thing pops off in his hands, and the suit starts to glow. Tony tells FRIDAY to send the suit back to Avengers tower, and the suit flies off.
"I guess it's time to go, then?" Bruce stares at Tony, who nods. They set off towards the ship, and climb inside.
Peter is sitting up, now awake and blinking weakly at Clint, who has a sleeping Natasha on his shoulder. Grinning, Tony takes a seat next to Peter.
"Don't tell me you guys took more bullets." Bruce closes his eyes.
"Two bullets. One grazing, other embedded." Clint sighs, his arm tightening around Natasha's waist. "Don't know about the kid."
"Where's the med pack?" Bruce rummages around before returning with it and starting to patch everyone up.
The jet pulls in front of Tony's tower late into the night. Peter's leg has been splinted and covered with a bandage, and Natasha has been fixed up as well. Tony's sickness requires more than what's on the ship, but it won't take long for Bruce to whip up a cure.
They let Tony and Peter off, before they turn around and fly away. To be expected, the hordes of reporters and paparazzi that have been waiting outside his house for days are suddenly alert, snapping pictures, calling Tony's name, and rapidly firing question after question at Tony.
He stands there, supporting a wobbly Peter, trying to ignore the people all calling his name, creating a dull throb in the back of his head.
"Mr. Stark, over here!"
"Mr. Stark, what was it like being proclaimed dead for the second time?"
"Mr. Stark, can you tell us a little bit about your time in Iran?"
"Who is the kid, and what is his relation to you?"
"Mr. Stark, do you think you are going to suffer lasting effects from this?"
And then, "Tony!" A smile spreads across Tony's lips and he throws his arms open wide as Pepper sprints into his arms. She tightly hugs him, squeezing the life out of him.
"Hey, babe." He kisses her cheek lightly, hugging her back.
"God, Anthony Stark." She pulls back and lightly hits his arm, before cupping his face and pulling him in for a kiss. He pulls back after a second. "Honey, I think we have a small audience watching our every move."
"I know, they won't leave." She rolls her eyes, before yelling, "Alright, all of you clear out before I call the freaking police!" And with that, the crowd of people all go back to their cars, some driving away, and others staying to watch the building for any more activity.
Pepper helps Peter and Tony hobble into the building and collapse on the couch. Peter falls asleep almost immediately, slumping against the big, plush pillows. Pepper smiles and picks him up, carrying him to his bed. She returns to Tony, sitting next to him. They turn their bodies so that they're looking at each other, and she carefully runs a finger along the cuts on his face.
"What happened?" She says softly. Tony grabs her in his arms, hugging her tight and resting his chin on top of her head and rocking back and forth slowly.
"That bad, huh?" She whispers.
"Well, Pep, I don't know how to tell you this, but I was injected with some super deadly virus." Tony says in a shaky voice. "Banner is going to try to cook up an antidote, and I don't doubt that he will, but there's a chance that I could..."
"Why does this keep happening, Tony?" Pepper says, shutting her eyes tightly. "I'm tempted to never let you out of the house again at this rate."
"Well, being shut up in here with you for months on end doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world." He kisses the top of her head.
"What happened to Peter?"
"Well, he went through some stuff, and he has a gunshot wound on his leg, but other than that, he's good."
"He got SHOT?"
"Well, the bullet only grazed his leg." Tony winces as he says it. It doesn't sound much better than being actually shot.
"He's just like you." Pepper laughs quietly. "He has the inability to not head towards danger."
"It's a blessing and a curse."
"Well, Mr. Danger seeker, you are going to bed. Now." Pepper gets up from the couch and leads his towards their bedroom. After they're both dressed in their pajamas, they get into bed.
"I really missed you, Pep."
"I missed you too, Tony." Pepper moves into Tony's arms. "Don't leave again, please."
"As long as you don't leave me." He says with a smile. "I'm sorry I scared you."
"Eh, just another week for me." She yawns. "Love you."
"I love you too, honey." And for the first time in a week and half, a state of calm somewhat settled into Tony Stark's brain. Crazy, isn't it?
/AN/ I know this one is pretty short, but I only have a few chapters left!! It's pretty exciting. Thank you all for the likes and reads, and I love you all. /AN/