Survivor

26. Progress

"Strive for Progress not Perfection."

10: 00

Finally! Tony couldn't help his dramatic exit as he jumped out of his seat, flung open a window and called his suit. "I'll have him back in no time." He told May simply, who nodded behind him. She was terrified, but knew going out there would only make it worse. She couldn't protect Peter from what he was facing out there. She could only try to make him stronger while she was with him.

Tony, on the other hand, saw no reason why he couldn't beat the living pulp out of anyone and everyone who touched a boy on that kid's head. The eternity (or what felt like) of waiting had only made Tony's worry for Peter worsen until he set all power to thrusters and rapid-fired questions at FRIDAY.

"Where is he, FRIDAY?" Was his first, along with vital signs, GPS and news stories about Spiderman. "I cannot find anything like that, sir." Was her simple reply, and it almost made Tony fall onto the top of a building. "Excuse me, what?"

"Peter's suit has been damaged or tampered with, so that I cannot trace him. There is also no new public information about Spiderman." Tony's heart was racing now. He should've gone out earlier. Peter's suit had been working no more than 30 minutes ago, Tony should've left then!

Quickly, Tony brought up where Peter was last. A warehouse, not far from Brooklyn. He groaned, knowing all the hijinx the kid could get up to in half an hour. He was going to need... help.

"Cap? Come in, Captain America. This is a secure line. STEVE! For the love of freedom, answer me star spangled briefs!" Tony yelled into the comms. After a second, he heard a reply. "I don't think I've ever been mocked so much in so little time." Came the cold sarcasm that Tony really didn't have time for.

"That's great, eagle for brains, but this is serious. I need all the Avengers. Now." He growled, and Steve did so knowing Tony set it up so the entire Avengers team could only be reached by Tony and Cap together. Security precaution for the paranoid.

"Wanda, Clint, Natasha, Sam, Bucky, Rhodey, Scott, Vision and-"

"Don't bother trying Peter." Tony cut Steve off with a worried groan, and Captain Oblivious finally caught on. "Oh spades, what happened? Where is he?"

"Yeah, so... I have no idea."

"Stark, I'm going to kill you." Natasha growled, seemingly coming in to eavedrop without announcing herself. "You let that kid get hurt, again?"

"Did I say hurt? He is not hurt! Don't even say it!"

oOo

Peter was very much hurt.

Groaning, the teen superhero straightened, realizing he was sitting slumped against the wall. His body ached, but especially his neck... when he went to rub said neck, Peter yelped in surprise. There was a cold metal... collar around his neck. Peter launched to his feet despite his body's protests and spun in a circle. He was in a warehouse, but hadn't been there for too long since it was still dark. He could guess half an hour or more, deciding on the large pain at the base of his skull.

Another concussion on his list! Yippee!

Thankfully, his ribs and other wounds were healing, none left open or bleeding, thanks to his quickened metabolism. And, thank the stars, his mask was still on. The collar, however, was almost more worrying.

"Oi, Shocker, he wakes." Came a low rough voice. "Already? Big Man didn't think he would for hours yet!" Ah, so they hadn't accounted for his sped up healing factor. Pity for them.

Shocker, Ox and Ricochet were still the only three guarding him. None had a remote, so Peter could only desperately plead that he was not wearing a shock collar.

"Hey, its the three stooges!" Peter chuckled, crossing his arms nonchalantly while scanning for exits. "Can we take his mask off now?" Ricochet asked, and Peter noted he had a very quiet voice as if not used to speaking regularly. "No, the boss wants to do it himself." Shocker spat back, clearly not pleased. If these three were loyally obeying someone, they must've been a powerful person.

That wasn't good for Peter.

"So, what's this collar for, anyways?" Peter asked with a smirk to his voice but a frown behind the mask. "It dissables your fancy suit. None of your super friends will find you now." He scoffed, and Peter barked out a laugh.

"The Avengers? You think this will stop them? Besides, whats to stop me from getting out of here on my own?" He walked in a circle, gesturing wildly. "Nothing much... merely this." And then the remote was whipped out. He had to ask.

Peter yelled as sudden electricity sent him to one knee. "Really? The Shocker using a shock collar? Predictable much?" Peter managed to cough, before another wave sent him fully to the floor.

oOo

"Half an hour? That kid could be in DC by now! Heck, he might've made it to Canada!" Sam protested, wings following the gestures of his arms. "Why would he want to go to Canada?" Bucky asked blatantly, and Sam shrugged defiantly. "Who knows with that kid?"

"That's not the thing, though." Tony began slowly. "If I can't track him, or even see his vitals, it means someone has fully dissabled his suit. While Peter has tampered with it in the past, I can't see why he'd want to hide himself. So it's not where he could go, it's who could take him and where." That silenced the Avengers and Scott's frown deepened. He definitely didn't want his daughter to be a superhero. At all.

"I could try to track his mind?" Wanda suggested, but Tony only sighed. "The only way to fully shut down the suit is through a magnetic field. That would also dampen your abilities." He had already run through every possibility. This was the only thing they could do for now.

"We're going to have to search for him. We'll start two blocks from the warehouse outward in a fan shape." Steve stepped up to explain while Tony mulled over his own stupidity.

The real stupid decision was to not search the warehouse.

I'm sorry, but yeah, the Avengers are oblivious. Will they leave Peter hanging? Who is going to save our young spider?
I actually have a big surprise for everyone, but it will only be jawdropping at the end so... wait and see!
Sorry I haven't updated in a while BTW. Life. Sucks. Yup.
~Meow