The Spider and The Flame (Peter Parker)

Part 5- Arrival

"Ash, wake up!" I hear a voice chuckle, waking me up. I open my eyes and find Peter staring at me with a huge grin on his face.

"How long was I asleep?" I ask, yawning.

"I don't know, four hours maybe?" He guesses. "I can't wait to show you the place. It's mega awesome"

"Please don't tell me you're going to be wheeling me around for the tour" I raise an eyebrow, my gaze landing on the giant water tank I'm still stuck in. I notice that most of the water is gone, enough that only below my waist is actually wet.

"As entertaining as that would be, it's too damn heavy for me to wheel." He smiles, "Mr. Stark has the suit ready for you now."

Anxious to see this famous suit, I gesture towards the door, "let's go then, yeah?"

The jet door opens and I'm wheeled down to a gravel field. Taking in my surroundings, I find an enormous structure in front of me. It looks sort of like a bunker with an extremely modern design, sporting a giant Avengers logo on its side. Mr. Stark surely spared no expense with this joint. As I'm pushed toward a pair of enormous metal doors, I notice multiple dummies with targets set up all over the grass and gravel fields. Some have bullet holes stuck in them, while others are slashed and some even burned. Target practice, I assume.

I hear a swishing sound overhead, catching my attention. I look up to find none other than Vision, the scary floating computer man, fighting against someone on the roof. His smile indicates that whomever he's fighting is a friend, and they're only sparring each other. I catch a glimpse of dark crimson hair in my attempt to discover his opponent, which leads me to believe it's Natasha Romanoff, aka The Black Widow.

With the spar leaving my sights, I focus on what lies ahead. The inside of the bunker is finely detailed and covered with expensive looking buttons and gadgets. Multiple blast doors on either side of the hall lead me to believe that there are sparring arenas behind them, or perhaps just enormous bathrooms... You never know when it comes to Tony Stark.

Just as Tony Stark crosses my mind, he also comes into view. Spider-Man- I mean, Peter runs ahead to say hello to Mr. Stark, and as soon as he grows close enough to see his face he grows frantic. Tony is covered in bruises and cuts, more so than what we left on him in Berlin. He seems frail and weak, hardly being able to hold himself up.

"Mr. Stark, what happened?" Peter asks, running a hand through his hair, "you don't look so good"

"Thanks for that, really didn't notice" Mr. Stark replies sarcastically. "Your buddy did this!" He yells to me as I finally reach a talking distance. "Mr. Captain America and his best pal Barnes"

I'm shocked by his words. Steve and Bucky never intended to seriously injure anyone, they couldn't have initiated a fight to this degree. Studying Mr. Stark's features, he definitely has a black eye and maybe even a broken nose. One of them must've socked him in the face real good. "Th-they wouldn't. They couldn't" I stutter, biting my lip nervously.

"Well, they did." He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Anyways, can't be mad at you for what they did, abandoning the Avengers and all." One of his hands find its way to his chin, stroking the small hairs scattered into a beard. "You're a pretty valuable asset, really. Superhero material. Peter here is going to show you to your room and give you the suit I've manufactured. You only have to wear the suit until I know I can trust you, so try to give me a reason to."

"Oh I'm super trustworthy sir!" I raise my eyebrows and smile, "can't wait to abandon my morals and be a government controlled slave"

"Okay, wow," Mr. Stark laughs, "strongly opinionated I see."

"Very" I huff.

"I'll just get her out of the tank and stuff then Mr. Stark. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her" Peter places his hands on his hips. He looks like a little boy trying to prove to his daddy that he can use a big boy menu.

"Make that two..." Mr. Stark replies, walking off towards one of the blast doors.

-

"This is a little much, don't you think?" I ask, eyeing the suit Stark has constructed for me. It's a full silver bodysuit, with gloves and feet coverings. The suit appears to be made from a strange fabrication.

"I don't make the rules, I just follow them." Peter replies, unlocking the tank I've been trapped in. I climb out of the top and jump to the floor, landing perfectly on two feet. I study the room and notice that there are no windows and the doors are firmly shut. I wouldn't be able to fly out of here if I tried.

I walk slowly around the room with one of my hands grazing the wall. It appears to be simple drywall, but Tony Stark surely can't be stupid enough to put me in a flammable room. I spit a small fireball onto the wall and it bounces off and falls to the floor, dying. I chuckle, "fireproof drywall? Nice."

Not receiving an answer to my statement, I turn towards Peter to find him only inches away from me. I can feel his breath on my face as he towers over me, roughly four or five inches. He presses the suit against my chest, handing it off. "I'll stand in the corner, tell me when you've got it on."

Retreating as he said he would, he stands in the corner of the room facing away from me. Without any options of escape, I comply to his request. I slip off my damp clothes and toss them over in Peter's direction, just to the right of his feet. I know he can see them, and I know he's probably struggling not to look at me... Especially when I throw my bra towards him and it lands on his foot. He is a teenaged boy, after all.

I slip the suit up my legs and to my arms. Breast cups are kindly already installed in the material, so I won't have to worry about looking flat or whatever. Not that it really matters when you're a captive anyways. Finally getting the suit on, I feel like I'm about to go surfing or something. The fabric is heavy and warm, like a wetsuit of some kind. I zip up the back with great difficulty, not wanting to ask Peter for help.

Once fully dressed, I turn towards the wall to shoot a fireball from my palm. I muster my strength but I find myself unsuccessful. As confusing as this is, I have multiple guesses as to how Stark did it. Flame retardant material for the suit. While the suit stops my main power source, I can still spit fireballs, which should come in handy if Peter ever starts to annoy me.

"Well, how do I look?" I ask, looking down at the suit, wiping my hands along my waist.

Peter turns to look at me and his eyes grow wide, taking in my appearance. He mumbles something I can't quite hear, then clears his throat. "You look... Good" He chokes out and turns on his heels towards the door. "You coming?"

I follow behind Peter, excited for what's to come... Even though I'm not totally sure what to expect.