Rhodey And The Mystery Boy

Chapter 8: The Damage Arrives - Can I just Give Up?

Rhodey felt as if his life had turned to rot. Every moment was pure tenseness in months. Why did this child influence his life so much? If he was Tony’s son, he could understand it, and he could welcome it. But this kid was not.

Why did Rhodey have to loose this drastically? He wanted a nephew and he instead gains an employee and loses his family? How was this fair?

Rhodey’s life felt more and more like a dark cloud with every day. It felt impossible to try and be happy. Impossible to be with others without snapping. He felt constantly stressed in his own home, felt like everything was just a huge chunk of mistakes.

Rhodey sighed as he stood for the morning, about half an hour later than he used to a few months ago. Now, this felt normal. He went directly to eat breakfast. He would stay almost the entire day in his room working on paperwork about missions he should have been on to help, new technology contracts, and other stuff for the military he just wanted to not do. He ignored the new stupid test results Peter had brought to the Compound that Tony felt the weird need to put on the fridge, ignored Pepper, and went straight to grasp something out of the fridge. This turned out to be yesterday’s leftover pizza Rhodey had ordered when the group went out to eat. It was surprising the boy has not eaten it before Rhodey woke up. Usually, he would.

But it did not matter. He had something to do. Work. A lot of it. And his family did not want him here, anyway. To be honest, Rhodey had thought about changing his room from this close to Tony and Pepper to the far side of the Avengers Compound, feeling free of this family burden. He could use the communal kitchen instead, and wake up on his own schedule instead of from the clangs of kitchenware in the morning, laying in bed forever trying to find the motivation for the day he used to have.

Maybe he could even live at a completely different building. He did not need to live with the Avengers, did he? It was only Tony, Vision and him, anyway. And Vision was away most days. Tony obviously did not want him here. And he has been here far less than he has not been here if you look at the grand scheme. He had been away for eight months. He has been here for hardly over two. Why not just leave? He could start anew.

Of course, finding friends would be harder. He is the world-famous War Machine. He could not go to work or a bar or something to find new friends. And he was without work able to use to meet anybody right now due to the injury. Rhodey doubted he would find something that would give him an honest chance.

Rhodey felt like crying. What was left of his life? His parents died, his brother is gone, his sister works so far away he can rarely see her, and Tony and Pepper moved on with life without him, leaving him behind. And he had no way to contact any of the other Avengers on the run. Sure, he could talk with Clint, but it was just as tense with him. Clint had no way of communicating with his pseudo-daughter, and had some issues with the whole fight, not to forget he was not exactly happy to be confined to the farm.

Maybe Rhodey should – should he? – maybe not? – it might be a nice idea... Get a change of pace, and visit Clint sometime soon... Talk about their issues, try to rescue the friendship... They were somewhat close before the whole thing... They all had been ... If at least one of these could be salvaged ... Maybe it was worth it? Of course, it was a long shot. And there was no guarantee Clint would even allow him there. But the idea felt better than constantly feeling the fifth wheel in this family.

What did it matter, anyway? He could not stay with Clint forever. He could not be Uncle Rhodey for Clint’s kids. They used to have Nat before this whole thing. He could not just take her place. He had to live with the fact that Uncle Rhodey was a dream that would not come. And that he has this boy – this stupid intern, Peter – instead. He had to live with the existence of the boy constantly teasing him for his dream. Had to try and ignore the part of him that still wanted to be the boy's Uncle Rhodey, Pepper’s and Tony’s son. He had to live with the frustration that Tony and Pepper did not want him anymore.

He wanted back to a world where he had the challenge to convince Tony he could be a worthy uncle the same way Rhodey had hoped he would someday convince Tony that he would not be a father like Howard Stark. He wanted to have this life. He had not. He had no nephew, and no friends, and no family.

It was only a matter of time until Tony decided Rhodey was not worth being the best man.

For one insane moment, Rhodey had entertained the idea that Peter was Spider-Man. Then, Tony and Pepper would have told him about Peter months ago. They had never shut up about the young hero and Rhodey had felt like they were starting to be something like unofficial adoptive parents to the young superhero saving the Avengers from the Vulture trying to steal all Avengers’ tech. He had enjoyed the idea of being family to this young man, and be there being a way to train the boy. God, Rhodey would have taking Spider-Man on as his own! He saw how talented the hero was.

But it was ridiculous. Peter was a child, young and stupid. He was maybe fifteen (Rhodey still did not know the boy’s actual age), and Spider-Man was a hero in college! The things Spider-Man had built, Rhodey was sure the boy was making his masters or maybe a PHD. No way someone so talented would be in High School. It was just idiotic to believe.

Not to forget the fear that gripped Rhodey’s heart at the thought of a fifteen-year-old fighting armed muggers, stepping in front of rapist, and taking down the Vulture. No way would Tony allow a child to go through that! Tony would not allow a child to endanger himself like that! He knew his friend would stop it at any point.

Spider-Man was just a no-show.

Rhodey just munched on his cold breakfast pizza, but all hunger disappeared. The food felt like sand on his lips and his stomach churned.

It was all over, wasn’t it? His life? A random employee, a nobody, got more care from his family than him. Was there any need to look at this as worthwhile anymore? Tony does not care anymore, nor do Pepper and Happy. As far as Rhodey knows, his sister will drop him for this unrelated kid, too.

Why could Peter not have been Tony’s kid? Being replaced by Tony’s son did not sting like this. He still had a place, a purpose in this family. Now he was just pressured out.

“My brother has arrived!”, FRIDAY announced, breaking Rhodey from his downwards spiral. Vision was back? He is a few days early! He usually would arrive on Sunday, not on Thursday. What is going on? The usual travel time were always specific so as to make everybody coordinated. Vision, after all, was their only connection to the others. Why would he break that coordinated pattern?

The door opened, and there stood Vision, smiling. Peter was immediately with Vision, hugging him. And Vision hugs back for a moment, before pushing him away gently. He adjusted his collar and spoke in his usual British tone: “Peter, brother! How have you been?”

Peter smiled eagerly, a cheerful grin on his face, relieved. “I'm well, Mr Vision!”, Peter exclaimed. Rhodey felt a headache coming from the child’s annoying cheerfulness and brusque loudness. Could this kid not react like a normal human? Did he have to be so damn cheery and childish? Did he have to be so – so – so annoyingly adorable? God, Rhodey wanted to punch something now.

‘Calm dawn, Rhodes!’, he yelled at himself. He needed to stay calm. He had waited for Vision for a reason. It was a friendly face, and potentially news from his friends, as sparse as they were.

It was a precarious deal they had. Vision would travel regularly. He would not know which time he would get to meet the others and which time he would come back empty handed. The travel itself were at least double the time he had spent with the others. At what point would be decided at random. Some time, he would get alone with Wanda, others he had the whole or parts of the group. Wanda was always there, though. They were in love, they wanted to be with each other. It was good. The transponder was always of when Vision travelled around the time he planned on meeting the others. Sometimes, he would stay where the transponder last sent signals, other times he would change the location fast.

Under no circumstances was any order there sufficient for Ross to track him. There was no chance they would take to give him any information. As far as Ross knew, Vision was just learning about Earth and its variabilities in case of a fight. Which was partially what he was doing, anyway. Vis was learning and experiencing the world, learning how to be human, learning different cultures, and where civilians would need most protection in case of a fight. Anything from evolving and understanding people, over emotions, over reasons to protect humanity, to ways to protect them. Nobody had to know it was partially a cover for them to stay in contact with their group that Tony had set up. He would do anything for his family, even in this sort of fight they had.

“Please, Peter, do call me Vis!”

Rhodey had made it over, feeling a small spark of relieve squishing its way through the tired annoyance and frustration that had clutched him tightly. Maybe he would not feel all so alone right now? In that moment, May entered the room, locking eyes with Vision, calling “Vision!” in bright, sparkling happiness that reminded Rhodey of the boy next to Vision whom Vis was still holding on one shoulder.

“Ah, Mrs. May, it is a pleasure to see you again,” Vision greeted May with a small, soft nod, giving her a one-armed hug when she approached.

Rhodey chimed in next, begging Vision to, just once, focus on him rather than only seeing the boy, a faked-cheerful: “Good to see you, man! It's been forever!” Rhodey clapped Vision on the shoulder, feeling the need to have just friendship for once in his life.

Vision acknowledged Rhodey with a small smile. “Indeed, I have not seen any of you in quite some time.”, he agreed, and quickly acknowledged the room’s most pressing need. “Alas, I have a message from our friends.”

With the events of the last slightly above a week, this was a necessary proclamation they have waited tensely to hear. What had happened in Russia? Was Natasha okay? Was she alive?

Vision smiled, trying to portray relaxation, though the room knew better than that. He had faked calmness before trying to ease mildly bad news. He would probably use a similar technique to hide a real issue.

“They send back their greetings and require me to explain that they are all well.” He paused before continuing, somehow managing to show ease and intensity at the same time. “Miss Natasha has been working on protecting the civilization in her own guarded doings and has reconnected with some old friends. If you could pass on that message to Mr. Clint, it would be greatly appreciated.”

Pepper frowned, her eyes full of concern. “She's good, though, right?”, Pepper quickly chimed in with a note of concern.

“They are all in the best of conditions”, Vision replied empathetically, his eyes shimmering with soft care.

“Thank God!” Pepper breathed a loud sigh of relief. “After the explosion in Russia, we were very worried.”

Vision nodded slowly, knowing the issue. The way Rhodey understood Vis, he probably felt similarly waiting anxiously whether they would even get information this time. Probably why the group decided to make the meeting this week, even though they already got a message last time: to ease the worry in everybody.

“I wish I could tell you more, but considering the situation, I thought it better to not acquire knowledge about the incident.”, Vision elaborated. “Now, I do require the assistance of Mr. Tony. Where can I find him?”

Peter jumped in happily, volunteering: “He’s waiting for me in my lab! I can take you!”

Vision smiled fondly at Peter. He did something that looked like ruffling Peter’s hair before answering: “Thank you, my brother. I greatly appreciate it.”

Rhodey decided to come with, intrigued by the comment on ‘Peter’s lab’. Of course, the boy would claim his own lab instead of acknowledging he worked as a simple intern and would therefore not have a lab. He probably worked in a communal lab or a group lab such as the intern lab. Rhodey felt frustrated. Tony probably spoiled the kid far too much and the boy seemed to be someone who loved to exclaim false ideas of his superiority. His own lab, honestly!

Rhodey followed the annoying child an probably his only chance for friendship to the elevator, relieved to keep Vision’s interest on him rather than Peter sucking it all up.

“Where have you been this time?”, Rhodey questioned.

“Well, I maintained traversing in North Europe when I discovered the notification from the further company of our protection endeavour. They resided in Finland. The entire group had gathered for once, and there was a visual communicate from Wakanda, as well. Alas we only dwelled approximately three hours prior to progressing to the South. With the entire group congregating thus compact merely hours, at the duration, after the incident in Russia, we were required to increase the security. For instance, we lingered no more than five hours in a country. Miss Natasha acquired some inconsequential injuries when we found her, nonetheless, she was in relevantly high level of wellness for the most part and was fully capable of travelling. We remained in the full group for two days before dispersing, leaving me with Miss Natasha and Wanda for another day before I had to travel back. I traversed to the Philippines before I enabled the transponder.”, Vision explained, Rhodey and Peter both listening intently.

Rhodey felt increasingly worried that a nobody was hearing about how they were still in contact with the other Avengers through Vision and how they managed to keep this of Ross’s radar, and he was sure he would have to have a serious word with Peter and Vision separately. They could not allow Ross to know any of this! Rhodey did not trust a child to just understand the intricacies of an NDA or that this boy would not try and take advantages of his position to gain popularity in school due to knowledge he has on the Avengers!

God, why had Tony chosen a random, spoiled, attention-seeking brat as his intern?

“Well, why did you return so early? I mean, you could have been staying with your girl a little longer, Vis!”, Rhodey wondered aloud. “I did not expect you until Sunday!”

“How could I have returned on Sunday yet make it on time to view the magnificent events of Saturday?”, Vision replied, raising his eyebrow. It only led to confusion, but they were already in front of the door of the lab Rhodey thought belonged to either Spider-Man or Wakanda. What were they doing here?

Peter put his palm onto the scanner before quickly punching in a code, and the door –

Rhodey gasped in shock: Avengers weapons and suits pilled on the wall, one table had dismantled Widow Bites and Spider-Man’s Webfluid, another big table had an older War Machine suit lying half-dismantled on top, Dumm-E and Tony working on a red baggy suit connected to a computer, looking like the Spider suit the Webslinger was running around Queens in. The newest models of Stark Phones still in development were strewn on the side of the table, obviously hastily pushed away. Blueprints of FRIDAY and what Rhodey assumed to be SAD were shown in the hologram behind Tony.

Rhodey took a moment to breath in and calm down. This was not Peter’s lab, no way! This is all the most secret developments and issues! Tony hardly allowed Rhodey to see them, he would never give a nobody child access to this! He did not understand the full complexity of this situation, but he knew that Peter was not supposed to be in here. There was no doubt in his mind.

Was this brat capable of hacking into FRIDAY and giving himself access? From what Rhodey knows, the kid was incredibly smart, but this would be quite the feet... Though, it would explain the position in SI working under Tony Stark... On the other hand, Tony would have kicked the boy out for sure if he endangered Tony’s family by hacking into FRIDAY...

It just made no sense! This nobody should not have access to any of this, it was too dangerous! Nobody in the world should have access to it! Tony had always made sure that only him and the person the equipment belonged to would be able to work with it, for the simple danger of someone inappropriate getting their hands on it, or the Avengers landing with damaged equipment somewhere unable to ask Tony for aid to repair the damage (and provably as a precaution in case he died, if Rhodey knew his friend sufficiently). A random child child not have a way to be in the same room as the blueprints or suits!

“Hey, guys!”, Tony greeted, his back still to them, working on the program of the Spider suit. “Glad you are back, Vis!”

“Greetings, Mr Tony. It is a pleasure to see you again, even in these most trying of times.”

Tony rolled his eyes at Vision's dramatic flair, though he did not seem to help but smile at the sound of his old friend. He just swished through the last line of coding, then turned towards Vision.

“Good to see yah, Vis.”, Tony exclaimed, a bright lit smile on his face. “Why you visit me in my lab? Something off?”

“The last travel had ended in an incurrence of Ross’s workers trying to apprehend me in China. One of their weapons had left damage to my arm.”, Vision explained, wasting no time in diving into the reason behind his unusual visit in the Compound’s lower levels. “Alas, I additionally possess report about our companions, Mr Tony. They are all well and continue to work towards our common goal of citizen protection. Miss Natasha protected civilians in Russia, although I did not ask for details. While she acquired minor injuries, she is currently in the best of health and the group continues to travel separately at my current awareness. Mr Ross is firmly unaware of their locations or our tactics to keep him from acquiring knowledge of their positions or plans.”

Tony nodded, visibly relieved to hear that his friends were safe, even though the darkness at the thought of them was always there.

“That's good to hear. Now, let us see your arm!”, Tony pushed two rolling chairs close, and soon Peter and Tony sat around Vision, working on his arm, working in sync... And throwing Rhodey into a loop over and over again. The boy was smart, considering it was him who found the error before Tony or Rhodey did, and he repaired it almost single-handedly. Tony and Peter operated almost wordlessly, reacting in a matter of milliseconds, adapting to one another, and behaving as if they were two parts of the same machine... It seems like they were ... communicating soundlessly? Rhodey is amazed at how smart Peter is and how Tony is teaching him so much. It was breath-taking, it was amazing, it was a picture of perfection. It was just plain wrong! Peter is even able to hand Tony things – even Rhodey cannot just do that! How could Tony have so much trust and faith in this nobody yet comparatively so much distrust in him? It was unbearable!

Maybe he had accepted the explanation to early? While they were distracted and loud, Rhodey swept to the bathroom for a moment, to ask FRIDAY. “FRI, are you sure Peter and Tony are not related?”, Rhodey questioned in disbelief.

“There have been multiple DNA tests and paternity tests in the last few months, many of them related to Peter acquiring injuries during his pass-time. None suggest any family connection of the biological facility. Neither has a legal connection beyond employee and employer been recorded on any way. While certainly having been discussed, no adoption, fostering or other legal caretaking have currently any placement. However, during short periods of time, Tony has given out legal caretaking to other members of this family and he is noted as Peter’s tertiary emergency contact at Midtown School of Science and Technology.”

Rhodey just sighed. Something was just off. Why was Peter, a nobody, in such a high position everywhere? It did not make sense. Fine, he was not Tony’s son. Then what was he? How could Peter be looked so highly here? They were hiding something, Rhodey just knew!


---

Peter sat in his lab, pouring over blueprints for his latest upgrade to the Spider-Man suit after Vision and Mr Rhodes had left. Peter had felt a deep-rooted unhappiness, having to accept that Rhodey would not see Peter as part of their little family. It was frustrating! Peter had tried so hard, and it had looked all so great for the first week, and then Rhodey suddenly just hated Peter!

Peter wanted to cry. He had enjoyed Mr Rhodes’s company and conversations and the feelings he had when around the man, but of course the man would recognize that Peter was flawed and insignificant. Peter had known that he did not belong and that without Spider-Man, Mr Stark, Miss Potts, Happy and Mr Vision would not be interested in spending any time with him. It was only a matter of time until Peter would be seen in the same way by all of them, and he would lose it all. Maybe it was for the better. He was only endangering them, anyway. Being close to a Parker was a significant course. There would probably be some big storm, a car crash, or a giant villain taking everybody and putting them through giant pain. Peter should stay away. It was for the best. He was sure.

As he worked and thought, his stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't had lunch yet. Great. Another issue.

Tony looked up from his own work and chuckled. “Hungry, kid?” His smile was bright, happy, the eyes filled with life. This look was like a balm for Peter. It repaired some of the pain in him. It did not stop his thoughts for long, but it was something.

Peter nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, kind of. But I don't want to bother you.”

Peter knew he was a problem. He was a burden. Mr Rhodes was just a new person to show Peter how worthless he was in this world. Maybe that was okay?

Tony shook his head. “Don't be ridiculous. What's the point of having an intern if I can't take care of him? What do you want to eat?”

It did not take long before they sat in the kitchen with Mr Vision and Miss Potts, talking about anything. Talking about Peter’s Competition soon. Talking about Mr Vision’s travel. Just plainly talking, chatting animatedly, everybody contributing to the conversation. And for just one moment Peter felt the safety of the Compound he has been missing.

As Peter dug into his meals, he couldn't help but feel grateful for Mr Stark’s and all of their generosity. “Thanks for all of this, Mr. Stark!”, he said between bites of Grilled Tofu-Vegetables in Sweet-Sour Sauce. “I know it's a lot of work.”

---

Vision remained perplexed over the duration of the day. Even though he disclosed the inhabitants of Miss Natasha’s secure return to the remainder of the previous residents, the inexplicable apprehension did not vacate the Compound. Fairly notably, the entirety of the occupants felt seemingly apathetic about the transmission Vision had imperilled the protection of their confidantes to deliver.

Vision effortlessly recorded the beclouded disposition of Mr Rhodey during his encounters of the day, the man repudiating the group’s daily merriments, and gaining a distance particularly towards Mr Tony and Vision’s brother, while comparatively adhering to Vision as if expecting some augmented items and rapport with him compared to the remainder of the denizens.

Mr Tony appeared increasingly taut the further Mr Rhodey estranged himself from Vision’s brother, and a substantial, scarcely concealed acrimony crept into Mr Tony’s expression during any instance that Mr Rhodey remained apart from the inhabitants or portrayed any disinterest towards their well-being.

Miss Pepper candidly increased the tender affection she enacted towards Peter, frequently preserving a protective arm around the boy, and Vision established she periodically indulged in glaring at Mr Rhodey with a glance of such dismay, an excavation of culpability unfurled in Vision’s own mid-section.

Vision did not comprehend what was transpiring within his household unit, though he considered the issues to require interference.