Snapshot (фотография)

V

Peyta groaned as he fell back on the bed. The springs from the mattress pushed into his back and he made a face on the squeaking protest that it made. He dropped his bag on the ground, leaning into the thin comforter.

"Peyta," The synthetic female voice that had helped him through his life decisions since he was thirteen roused him. He had created Karine to help him on his operations when he was barely a teenager. Smiling, Peyta remembered the day she had been activated.

It was nearly four years ago, as Peyta connected the last wire and inserted the chip with his code. Originally, she was only programmed in Russian, the fluency of his English language lost to him long ago. However, as he grew older and focused on his studies, he began to add different dialects. There was a small beep as the miniature circuit board lit up when he connected the power source, and a woman's voice echoed into his ear in Russian.

"Hello, Peyta." He had smiled at the name he had chosen for himself. Even at age thirteen, Peyta had chosen a name for himself other than Noir. His handlers had given him the code name, stating that it was to make sure he lost any connection he had to his former life.

Peyta, then Noir, had researched possible names, hidden from his instructors. Eventually, he settled on Peyta, which was similar to an English name that struck a chord in him- Peter. It held a strong meaning, Stone, and it was Russian. He used a numbering system to decipher the inner meaning of Peyta, and smiled when discovering that former Peytas' had fought for truth, justice and stability. Peyta sighed, escaping his memories and pressing his finger to the communicator and responding.

"Yes, Karine?"

"A news story has just been released about Tony Stark's subsequent poisoning. They say he is in stable condition and are reassuring the public he is on his way to recovery."

Peyta cursed in Russian, deftly snatching the television controller with nimble fingers and turning to the local news source. The anchor pasted on a sympathetic smile, informing the people that Tony Stark was on his way to recovery. He growled, glaring at the television screen and looking at the newspapers on the hotel desk with articles written by J. Jonah Jameson.

It was too risky to break back into the tower now. He had already attracted suspicion, and if Natalya was on his case, he had to leave New York quickly. They most likely had already figured out that Paul Stone was merely a pseudonym, and were tracking down his trail. Maybe they were looking for him in Jersey, but there was always the chance that they were just outside of the building now with SHIELD officers, just like this morning.

Peyta grabbed his briefcase filled with his gear and donned his suit, brushing back his chestnut hair and gelling it. He then sorted through his identities in a pocket in his bag which was filled to the brim with passports and licenses, smirking when he found the correct one. Quickly picking up his suitcase and surveying his appearance in the mirror, Peyta- now Thorstein Lee- made his way out the door after cleaning the suite.

"Might I suggest you are perhaps being paranoid?" Karine popped up in his ear. He smiled devilishly as he responded.

"Ah, but it's how I've stayed alive."

----

"Tony!" Pepper cried, restraining herself from hugging her boyfriend as he coughed himself back to life- and a new lung, apparently. Steve was holding her back, but the relieved look on his face betrayed his own holding himself back too. Bruce smiled weakly, pushing his glasses up and rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers.

"W-whasgoinon," Tony croaked, his fingers weakly picking at the ventilator mask. Bruce gently placed them down.

"You were poisoned, Tony."

"Poeson?" He blearily questioned and Bruce nodded before realising that Tony couldn't see him well enough.

"Yes." Bruce briskly began his exam, testing the ears with an octoscope and then testing Tony's pupils. He smiled when they reacted as they were supposed to, and turned to Pepper to give her a nod. She smiled widely, brushing her hair out of her face.

It had been a hard twelve hours for all of them. After Happy and Steve had woken up, Bruce had put them on monitoring duty so he could research what to use to cure Tony. Pepper had been distraught, but continued work as usual, albeit a bit distracted.

Natasha and Coulson were continuing to research the attempt and trace the assassin to his hole. They were currently investigating each hotel in the area for a Paul Stone. It was evident that it was a premeditated and carefully thought out plan. No evidence or DNA was discovered other than a barely there gas used to knockout everyone in the apartment. It was unknown on how the executioner had gotten it in there, but it was clear that he had studied the Avengers and their habits to strike at the most opportune time.

Sam and Tony had been the only two on the floor, with Sam in his apartment across the building. Tony was in his lab with his music blasting, which would have made it hard to hear if there had been any struggle. Natasha was down a few floors doing paperwork, Steve and Bucky were in the gym as they usually were during the night time and Bruce was in the lab working on medicine that would hopefully neutralize the Hulk easier. Thor was in Asgard, dealing with his brother and family, and Clint was visiting his family, which made him the perfect person to imitate.

Pepper cried as she hugged Tony, but Steve clenched his jaw when he realised that it wasn't over yet.

---

May frowned at the manila folder on her husband's nightstand. He had left for his shift only minutes ago, and she idly wondered if she should chase after him and give him the file. Biting her cheek, May threw the cover back with shaking fingers, grimacing before she looked.

It was Peter's case file, and she picked it up with trembling hands, flipping through the pieces of paper and evidence. A blood red stamp condemned the front page where an old school photo of Peter was stapled. 'COLD CASE', it read. She took a deep breath, looking through the testimonies of different people and suspects in the case before finding her own.

May remembered being dragged by Ben into the cold and grey interrogation room. They had grilled her for an hour or so. She still didn't know how long it had been. It was only a few hours after Peter had disappeared, and she screamed at the officers that she should be out there, she should be looking. But they didn't let her go, and by the time everyone was looking, it had been made sure that it was too late.

The corners of her mouth tipped up as she looked over at the photos decorating her walls, and her eyes filled with ashamed tears as her eyes turned to the sink. May Parker, heart thudding, opened the cabinet under the sink and lifted up the used banana peels and other compost, placing the folder in the middle of them, making sure it was covered completely.

"Sorry, Peter." There was nothing else she could have done.