A Different Kind of Family

Chapter 9: A Predicament

Peter was going insane. Maybe not literally but if he spent one more night in his room he was going to lose it. Tony had locked him in, the windows were sealed, his doors were locked and Friday was monitoring his every move. And if he wasn't locked up in his room he was constantly being poked and prodded by Banner to make sure the substance he was injected with wasn't doing anything to him. The only conclusion they've come to so far is that his healing abilities have been amplified to high. His wounds healed within seconds now; Peter still wasn't sure how to feel about it but currently he was sitting on his ceiling, his book long forgotten as he went about crawling around on the ceiling. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to get out, had to do something rather than just sit inside like a prisoner. A groan escaped his mouth as he went back towards the ground flopping down on his bed. He threw his arm over his eyes and tossed one of his pillows against the windows. That was when he noticed the time. Tony would be bringing him food soon and with that in mind he slowly began to form a plan. A small smile crept on his face as he went over to his closet and slipped on his suit and put his clothes on underneath. He made sure not to put on the gloves as that would give away what he was trying to do. With his heart beat slightly faster than usual he went to his desk (which was right next to the door) and waited.

He heard Tony's footsteps before he heard him knock on his door. He rolled his eyes at the sound. He couldn't open his door for him even if he wanted to. With a click and a swish the door swung open and Tony was there holding a tray piled with food and drinks. Before Tony could even ask how he was doing or even find where he was he jumped into action. He flipped right over Tony and finally saw a different scenery than his wallpaper. This only excited him more and egged him on to go even faster. He needed a window, a door, Hell, he'd settle for anything that would allow him to go outside. He was already turning the corner and running past Tony's room when he heard him yell for him to get back here and how it wasn't safe for him to be out. Peter toned out Tony's racing footsteps and he skidded into the kitchen. He wasn't prepared for who was there waiting for him. The Captain America, Steve Rogers. Peter jumped back as Steve tried to grab him from where he had been sitting. His mind was on full combat mode now, he refused to go back to his room. He was going crazy in there. So he did what he did best, he shot a web at his boot and avoided another one of his grabs. When the web hit it's mark he turned and started to run towards the elevator, not the best option but the windows were blocked by a super solider who looked to be very displeased with what he did. He pushed the call elevator so many times he was surprised it didn't break, but the elevator refused to come. With sweat now forming on his forehead he turned to face the super soldier that had now broken free from his webs. He did not look happy. Steve rushed at him and Peter's only option was to leap onto the ceiling and crawl away from the man as quickly as possible. But Steve was tall, and not to mention strong. Steve jumped and grabbed onto Peter's foot and began to yank with all his strength. Peter desperately tried to hang on as his whole body was being yanked and pulled by a man twice his size. His grip was slipping, he could feel it, with panic now adding onto his nervousness he kicked. His foot connected with Steve's arm and his grip faltered just for a second. A second was all he needed as he webbed straight towards the window. He swung with his feet and he could already hear the birds singing, the wind howling outside. He did it. Just as his feet were about to bust through the glass two strong arms grabbed around his waist and yanked back. Peter's breathe left him as Steve began to wrestle with him. No. Peter thought. They'll just amp up the security more now if they get him back! Peter fought with all his might against the grip of Steve's two arms holding down his arms and kicked frantically with his legs. They were both sweating now when Peter heard Tony enter the room, in his suit. Fear encased Peter now and he finally broke Steve's grip enough to let him slip through and onto the floor. He sprinted the minute his feet hit the ground. Steve lunged at him and managed to catch his arm but Peter was working with adrenaline here. He easily slipped through and turned away from the windows as Friday had probably sealed them by now and he ran towards the stairs. He slid over the handrail and took the stairs as fast as he could. Within seconds he was in Steve's training room. No windows in sight. Peter groaned again and he tried his best to try and figure out which door or hallway he should take next. That was when Steve and Tony both zoomed down the stairs. Tony looked exactly to where Peter was hiding and was already half way there when Peter cursed. Steve followed quickly behind him, his face set in stone. Peter turned to run but Tony was already there, even with the mask on he could tell Tony was glaring at him. The face plate lifted up, "What the Hell kid?!" Tony's face was red and the scowl Peter had pictured in his head was played out right in front of him. His brown eyes were set in determination and Peter felt himself take a step back.

"Please, I can't go back. It's suffocating in there!" Peter's eyes were darting everywhere now as he thought of any escape route.

"Peter, you gotta understand. We're doing this so that thing doesn't find you. We're trying our hardest to track it down but the city's a big place. It'll take time." Steve's voice came from behind Peter and it had his back stiffening. 

"It's after me right? If it sees me it'll come out and then we can take it down-"

Tony put a hand up, "Nah uh, not happening," and with that said his face plate covered his face once more, "Now stop this ridiculousness and come back upstairs." But Peter only shook his head and jumped back into action. He ducked underneath Steve's grab and sidestepped the pulse that Tony sent his way. Using the minor confusion of did we really both miss him? Peter lept over one of the many punched open punching bags and shot two webs and yanked himself to the nearest hallway. He slid around the corner as another pulse barely missed him. It made his ears ring and his vision slightly blurry but he refused to stop. He needed fresh air, he needed some kind of freedom. Just as Peter rolled around another corner a new pair of arms yanked him off his feet. It was Bucky, the winter solider. But Peter didn't waste any time as he pushed his feet against the wall and launched himself into Bucky. The sudden force sent Bucky falling into a wall and his grip to fall but just as Peter went to web away again Steve's arms were back and this time he wasn't holding back. Peter felt like he was being crushed in two as Steve yanked him from his crouching position. But Peter refused to give up and stuck out his two hands to the corner of the wall and he held on with all his might. That was when Tony finally came around the corner and his face plate once again opened up. "Really kid?" He walked over to where both of the men were straining against each other. "C'mon Pete, it's two super soldiers and an iron man against a teenager. Let's just go back upstairs and talk about this."

Peter only gritted his teeth as Bucky joined against the tug of war, "No! I feel like a prisoner up there! I don't wanna go back! I refuse!" Peter's grip had slipped now but luckily his powers kept his hands securely stuck to the wall. 

Tony sighed and ran his metal hand through his hair, "Peter don't make me do this." And he raised his hand to Peter's face. The ringing had finally stopped in Peter's ears and the fuzziness had finally faded but he knew if he was hit directly with a blast it would knock him out. 

"Damnit kid let go!" This time it was Bucky who had began to sweat along with Steve; they had Peter by the waist but his grip on the wall was incredibly strong. "I have better things to do than this!" But Peter held on with all his might. Seeing the determination in the kid's eyes Tony gritted his teeth together and fired. Peter let out a startled yelp as he was forced into unconsciousness, his grip completely falling. The sudden stop of force caused both of the super soldiers to crash into the wall opposite of them, Steve now holding an unconscious Peter. "Why is this kid so much trouble?" Bucky grunted as he stood up from the floor and brushed himself off. He ran his hand through his now sweaty hair as he stomped back to his room. Steve simply sat there panting and he slowly rose, never breaking his hold on Peter, afraid he would jump out of it at any minute. After settling Peter into a bridal carry he looked at Tony who was running his hand down his face.

"What are we going to do?"

Tony scoffed and looked away, "A prisoner? We're trying to protect him. Besides," Tony threw his arms up, "It's only been two days since the incident! How could he have gotten so restless so quickly?!" 

Steve chuckled and began to walk with Tony towards the stairs, his armor clinking with every step, "He's a kid Tony. They get restless easily." But before Tony could say more the boy was already waking up in Steve's arms. His eyes flew open and immediately he began to fight against Steve again. It was like trying to hold a very strong and flexible cat in your arms that did not like being held. Both of the men hadn't been prepared for him to wake up so quickly and Steve was obviously struggling.

"Damnit kid! We just want to protect you!" This time Tony didn't lift his hand, instead a small compartment opened up in his suit and he reached in, "Why are you making us do this..?" It was barely a whisper from Tony but Steve heard it as the man fast walked over to Peter and grabbed one of Peter's arms and held it with one hand while he brought the object closer. Steve tried his best to keep him still while Tony jabbed a needle right into his neck. Peter's eyes fluttered and finally closed and the struggling stopped just as quickly as it had started. Steve nearly fell over as the boy went limp in his arms once more. Steve looked up at Tony to see him quickly blink away the tears and wipe away the ones that had fallen. The billionaire cleared his throat and gestured for Steve to follow him, "Guess we'll have to do things differently from now on," the genius sighed and dragged his hands down his face again. "I just want to protect him.."