No Pain No Gain

Epilogue

No human being should ever be put through this. To see your own child on a hospital bed fighting tooth and nail for his life.

It had only been ten minutes since JARVIS had informed the team about the occurrence in ward fifty-four and already, a team of twenty doctors were paged on the scene.

"Tony." Rhodey and Bucky had heard what happened. They had just arrived from a mission in Germany, Berlin. Upon hearing their nephew had tried to kill himself, or that's what JARVIS had said, they hurried back as fast as they could.

Bucky looked at Peter through the glass window as he watched the doctors attempt to save his nephew's life. He had grown quite fond of the kid ever since Steve and Tony had brought him back from the orphanage.

He was kind, loving and a great friend to anyone around him. He even made Natasha smile and that was a win in his book. He couldn't believe what had happened after Bruce had filled them in. Peter was such a great kid. No one would have thought that he was suffering this much to do this to himself.

He watched as Rhodey was trying to console Tony who was inconsolable. Steve was just staring at the ground, his head in his hands as he sobbed.

"He'll pull through. I know he will. Peter's a strong kid. Just like his parents." The rest of the team were also there. Wanda and Pietro weren't goofing off as per usual. They were worried.

A portal then appeared and Doctor Stephen Strange emerged from it. He surveyed the scene, absorbing everything.

"Wilson filled me in. How is he?"

"We don't know."

Although he had never been around the compound that often, he had grown quite attached to the boy. Every minute spent with him a momentous one, even when he was babysitting the young child, he never failed to make him smile.

"I looked through his mind." Everyone stared at her in shock, but Steve held out a hand and spoke, "What did you see?"

"I saw . . . pain. So much pain. Fear. Anger. Sadness. Uncertainty." Everyone appeared confused. Some held sadness in their eyes.

"Fear? Of getting scolded by us?" Tony said. He looked up now. A look of anger in his eyes.

"No. The fear of disappointment." Wanda replied.

"You did just find out about his secret that he'd kept for God knows how long. He was afraid of disappointing you." Bucky added. He had his arms crossed as he looked at Steve.

"You can't blame the kid. I mean. I'd be pretty upset if I told my parents that I was Spider-Man. Especially when those parents are Iron Man and Captain America." Sam replied. They were all still in their gear, having refused to change out when they heard the news.

"He was afraid of how you'd react to his secret and I agree with him. You guys aren't exactly the calm type when it comes to handling these type of situations." Natasha said. She was just as worried as the others. Peter was by far her favourite as he would always play hide and seek whenever she and Clint were available for babysitting.

"I'm not disappointed." Steve said. He looked at Tony who agreed as well. "I'm. We." Tony nodded once again. "Are very proud of him. It's just. We were scared of losing him to the world. He's just a little boy. Our little boy."

They heard the heart monitor beep in a frenzy.

"I'm going to try to find him." Wanda said. She stood up. "Doctor. I need your help. It is a spell vhich is quite difficult as it demands a lot to enter an unconcious mind."

Stephen nodded. He knew what spell she was referring to. It was an old one and was not often used, but it was still around.

He began chanting and Wanda closed her eyes. Her hands began to glow, so did Stephen's. Then, they felt like they were being sucked out of their bodies.

Suddenly, they were in a dark place. Memories floated around. Wanda recognized that they were Peter's. His whole life was in here.

They had to hurry or they'd loose him. She turned to Stephen who nodded. They saw a boy with brown chestnut hair no older than the age of eight. He was clutching a Bucky Bear. They then realised that it was Peter. He turned to them. Eyes filled with sadness and grief.

"Peter." She reached out a gentle hand but he just scooted away. "Don't vorry. Ve von't hurt you. Ve just vant to help. Okay? Can you take my hand?" Peter stared at her for a brief moment before shaking his head.

Stephen stepped forward. He looked at the child. As he approached him, he was surprised to find that Peter didn't reel back in fear or try to run away.

"Peter. You need to take her hand. We are running out of time." Peter looked hesitant yet again. Stephen was never that fond of children, but that didn't mean he'd have the heart to let one die. He knew how easily someone's life could be snuffed out in just the blink of an eye.

"I know you feel scared. But you don't have to face it alone. We will face it together. Just please. Take my hand and let us help you. Let us make this right." For the first time, Peter opened his mouth and spoke.

"But what about pops and daddy? They won't be disappointed in me? They won't leave me like my mommy and daddy? They never came back. I killed them. Daddy and pops will go too." He was sobbing at this point. Stephen's heart broke to see the child in pain. He was afraid of abandonment.

"Tony and Steve will never do that. They love you with all their heart. They are so proud of you. Tony and Steve told me themselves. They were just scared. And I know for a fact that they are not the type of people to abandon the ones they love. Please. They need you. We need you. Do you trust me?" Peter nodded. He took both Wanda and Stephen's outstretched hands in his. "Okay. I trust you."

They were suddenly engulfed by white light, intensifying until they were pulled back into reality. They peered into the room to find the heart monitor beeping steadily. Peter was breathing. He was back.

Wanda turned to look at both Tony and Steve who nodded.

"Let's go see our son and make this right."