Aquaman? Whoops, Wrong Universe: A Percy Jackson Marvel Crossover

Chapter 16: Peter

Peter was starting to get super tired. In the course of one singular week, he had kidnapped his friend, learned that said friend was half-god, fought a giant, suffered at school, and now... Percy was gone. 

Peter had been sitting in his room with Ned after school, trying to do his homework as Ned ranted about something Peter was only half-listening to. He added in occasional nods and mhm's throughout the conversation for Ned's sake. Then, the all-too-familiar ringtone buzzed, ringing off his walls. Ned grabbed Peter's phone that was sitting on his bed, and his eyes widened when he saw the caller ID. He handed it off to Peter after a nudge on the shoulder, and Peter accepted the call without even glancing down at the identity. AP Lang essays took laser-focused concentration.

He put the phone up to his ear while he still clutched the pencil in his other hand, scribbling down anything he thought would be relevant to his given topic. He could sort out the details later.

"Hey," Peter said distractedly. He realized he probably should've looked at who was calling before he picked up, but he didn't really care.

"Kid," Mr. Stark's voice said, surprising Peter. He jumped, holding the phone much more rigidly than he had been a second ago. He set the pencil down, homework forgotten. Ned waited excitedly to hear what was happening behind the scenes, but Peter honestly had no clue why Mr. Stark was calling him. 

He hadn't done something wrong, had he?

He couldn't recall an instance where he had messed up bad in the past day since he had last seen his mentor, but one could never be too sure. "Mr. Stark!" he said, his voice slightly higher pitched than it had been moments ago. "Um, what's up?"

That was awkward. Great going, Peter, he thought to himself. 

"Let's just say a lot, kid."

Mr. Stark sounded more subdued than he normally did. Not so much the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, and more-so a concerned and exasperated suburban dad whose kids had just gotten arrested for throwing a party with underage drinking. Peter had never thought he would ever describe Mr. Stark like that. He always seemed so suave and charismatic and quick-witted—basically the opposite of Peter Parker. Peter was always so much more confident as Spider-Man. Sometimes, he really did feel like Iron Man while swinging around Queens in his suit. It was freeing.

When Peter said nothing, Mr. Stark relayed the story of the break-in to Peter, the boy's heart sinking with each word.

Percy was gone?

That couldn't be right. His friend, who had seemed so in control, so comfortable, so strong. He couldn't have been taken.

Deep in his heart, Peter knew he couldn't deny what was staring him right in the face. If someone as capable as Percy, with all the Avengers in the room with him, could be taken, then no place on earth would be safe from... what had Mr. Stark called the man? The Winter Soldier?

What was his motive? Why did he want Percy? Did he too know about Percy's strange heritage? A million questions whizzed through Peter's head, but he was interrupted by the strangely comforting voice of Mr. Stark.

"You okay, kid?" 

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm good," Peter replied, definitely not good.

"We're searching for clues right now. I got a lead on the security tapes, while Clint and Nat found a few traces of his blood. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, we'll have him back."

"Okay," was all Peter could think of to say, still barely processing everything.

"I know you want to help, but... this is too dangerous."