~Iron Family~

Run

Peter ran.

He didn't care where his feet were taking him, as long as he got there quickly.

He tried to hold back his sobs as the tears streamed down his face. His worst nightmare had come true: he couldn't be Spider-Man anymore. The one thing that kept him going was now gone. He'd thought for sure that Mr. Stark would call off the hunt, but he had been wrong about him. Mr. Stark didn't really care about him after all.

He wanted to run away. He wanted to go back to living on the streets, before that billionaire had tossed him out to the Wagners.

He ran through busy streets, darted around people, jumped over cars, all while trying to escape the person he'd been turned into.

Despite the constant sprinting, testing to see how far his lung capacity could go, Peter felt so cold. He was numb on the inside, where his emotions had exploded into a jumbled mess.

When will it stop?

He found himself barreling into the back door, crashing into Bernard drenched in sweat and shaking at ten thirty. He had ran the whole way, almost fifteen miles. He was ready to collapse onto his sleeping bag, but Bernard had other plans.

"You did it again!" he shouted. "How can you be so irresponsible?!"

"I'm sorry," Peter cried, holding his side and gasping for breath. "I--I didn't--"

"You're more trouble 'n you're worth," Bernard spat, shoving Peter into the kitchen cabinets. "First thing tomorrow mornin' you're going back to where you came, you stupid brat."

"Good!" Peter cried, startling him. "You've been nothing but uncaring and cruel to me! To everyone!"

He caught a glimpse of Billy standing on the stairs, watching fearfully. Kayla and Diego looked on from the kitchen table, and Arnwaldo from the stairs with Billy. Peter quickly motioned for them to go upstairs, but they stayed rooted where they were. Peter gulped and tried to stop his exhausted legs from shaking.

Bernard grabbed a fistful of Peter's hair, yanked his head back, and drove him into a corner.

"Listen here, boy," he seethed in Peter's face. His breath smelled like beer and cigarette smoke. "I don't want no more of your fussin'. You quit right now and I'll toss you upstairs nicely."

"No!" Peter didn't deter, even when Bernard repeatedly kneed him in the chest.

"I'm not going to back down!" he coughed, using his strength to pull away from him again. "These kids need someone to stand up for them! I'm going to report you guys to the police, and make sure Billy, Kayla, Diego and Arnwaldo get the foster parents they deserve!"

Bernard growled and aimed a few punches at Peter. He dodged most of them, but Bernard faked a left punch and socked him in the right eye. Peter stumbled back in shock, surprised he'd actually landed one on him, then gave Bernard a few punches of his own. Instead of stopping him, this only angered Bernard, who reached for him again.

"Stop it!" a little voice yelled. Billy jumped between Peter and Bernard, holding out his freckled arms defensively. "I won't let you hurt my brother anymore!"

"Go upstairs, Billy," Peter whispered. "I'll be up soon."

Billy shook his head and glared at Bernard. "You think you're so tough just because you're so big. You can't keep hurting us like this. Peter makes sure we have enough food and get to school. He's a nice big brother, and if you hurt him, I--I'll just--I'll just--"

"You'll do what?" Bernard sneered. "You can't do nothin'. Get outta the way."

"No!"

"Fine," Bernard grumbled, punching Billy in the stomach so hard he doubled over, staring down at his dinner now splattered on the floor.