Peter felt numb. Weak. He was in an empty void. This wasn't heaven, god no. It was something much worse, that much he knew. Here, he was free. His arms and legs weren't bound by chains. But the thing was, he couldn't move at all. It was as if he was paralysed while standing.
"Where am I?"
"The void. Your mind is lost."
"What? Who are you?" Just then, a man emerged from the shadows.
"Dad!?"
"Sorry. Not Tony. I'm just a figment of your imgaination. You're loosing control. Bit by bit, your mind is dying. It's being brainwashed. Pretty soon, you'll be nothing but a puppet in Hydra's arms with no way of coming back." (Peter is a genius for someone as young as he is, so he understands big words).
"How do I get out?"
"There's only one way. And it might not even be possible. The chances of executing it would be next to impossible."
"I have to try. I need to get back to my family."
"Are you sure? Because, you might die you know. Then your family would loose their precious Peter for good."
"I am."
"Good. Here's what you have to do..."
"The codes, Stark."
"Fine." Tony would do anything to protect his baby boy (no Spidypool), even if it meant sacrificing all he had worked for. His suits and fancy gadgets would mean nothing without Peter to share with.
Dr X. uncuffed one of his hands with a loud clink and placed the tablet in front of his face. A few taps later, the tablet lighted up green. "Access granted. Sir, this is unusual of you to want to gain access to your weapons all at once. Shall I proceed?"
"Yes, Jarvis."
"Voice recognition sir, if I may."
"Anthony Edward Stark. 532556."
"Voice recognised."
"There. I've held up my end of the bargain. Now it's time you do the same. Give me back my son."
"Hmm... no."
Then, the most unexpected thing happened. Winterspider whipped the gun away from his mouth and aimed it at Dr. X. "Your move, doc. I'd step away from the tablet if I were you."
"How!? You should have been completely brainwashed by now!"
"I was. But I broke free. Now, step away from the tablet, and maybe I won't blow your brains out." This wasn't Peter talking, but after spending a considerable amount of time with a group of infamous terrorists, he'd pick up a thing or two.
"Guards! Finish them off!"
A whole group of Hydra men streamed in from the door. Their guns pointed at the Avengers. "You're outnumbered five to one." Dr. X chuckled as he retreated into the shadows.
Winterspider, no, Peter, looked around. His family members were fairly weakened and it was clear that they weren't escaping this alive without a hell of a fight.
He looked at his pops and uncle Bucky. They were super soldiers and still looked like they had some fight left in them. The rest were getting up onto their feet. Then, a miracle happened. The window crashed inwards. Reinforcements had arrived and just in the nick of time too. His uncle Stephen, uncle Thor and uncle Loki plus the rest of the avengers were here and the party could finally begin.
"Stand down, Stark. We'll take it from here. The quinjet is on standby outside." The billionaire shot him a silent thanks to which the doctor acknowledged with a nod.
"Now. It hardly seems fair. A hundred or two of you against a group of super beings. I think it's time you say your prayers. Any last words? No?"
The fight began and they were holding up well on their own. It wasn't exactly a fair match. The odds were in their favour for once. Winterspider joined in on the action. He was firing his gun at each soldier, fending off a good number of them on his own too.
Tony didn't want to leave his son behind alone to fight for his life even if he had the rest of his superfamily to back him up. But he had to. He had no choice. They were injured and joining the fight wouldn't aid their cause.
It all happened so fast. They were making their way towards the exit as fast as they could (as fast as limping went), when they heard a gunshot. The group yelled when they saw Peter get hit in the back.
"I've got him!" Steve said as he carried an injured Peter bridal style back to the quinjet. Helen Cho was on board since Bruce was still fighting as the jolly green giant.
"What the hell." She muttered in shock when she saw her patient. "Lay him here! He's been shot. I need a cloth, some alcohol wipes and a bucket of warm water now!" She said as she ordered two of SHIELD's most trusted doctors beside her who scrambled to get the things she needed.
"Come on, Peter. You have to stay with us."
Once they landed at the base, they immediately wheeled in a stretcher and met a beeline for the operating theatre. All of them had to be reluctantly dragged into the med bay to get patched up.
The last thing Tony saw when he reached the base was his son being wheeled away to intensive surgery before he blacked out.
Tony groaned as he woke up to the blinding lights of whatever room he was in. "Peter!" He saw Stephen casually leaning against the wall frame. He had changed out from his costume into a dark grey polo top and a pair of black jeans.
"He's still in surgery. The doctors won't let any of us in (I know Stephen is a surgeon himself, but he wasn't there to see Peter through the surgery as he was busy fighting with the rest). I know that look in your eyes, Tony. You know that this isn't your fault."
"How the hell can in not be my fault?! I should have taken better care of him god damn it! I should have seen the signs. There was obviously something wrong with the Parkers from the moment they stepped into my building. But I stood there like an idiot."
"You wanted what was best for Peter. You didn't know that they were working for Hydra. Nobody did. It's not your fault, Tony."
"But I should have done something! I should have been better!"
"And what could you have done? Like you said, their ledger was clean. There was no possible way of knowing that they were the enemy. You did your best. Besides, it's over now. There's no point on dwelling on the past. Come and see your son when you've pulled yourself together and stop blaming yourself. Peter needs a father figure. If not for yourself, then for him."