we're "family"

3

1 year later

I wake up in the morning. I rub my hands down my face and sigh. Today is peter's 13th birthday.
Everyone gave up looking for him after it hit the 3 months mark everyone said that he was most likely dead but I didn't believe that. My kid was too strong to just give up like that. I get up and walk out of my room and look into Peter's room half excepting him to be jumping up and down bouncing from wall to wall talking nonstop.
Nothing's changed the half-built death star is still on the floor and the clothes left on the floor it still smelled like him.
I walk into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee and then I heard "sir you have a new email" I say "let me see it" and then grabbed my phone out of my pocket and pull it up and see it's not from anyone that I know I start to read it and it's confusing.
I read it over and over again. I say "Friday track where this came from" he said "on it sir" and then a few minutes later he said "it's from a computer located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean" I am so confused I said "can you give me coordinates" he said "I can try sir" I nod and then take a drink of my coffee.
A few minutes later he gave them to me and I programmed one of the tiny robot's to go check it out before getting suited up and being detected.

A couple hour's later the robot came back and showed me video footage and then a thought popped into my head.
I gather everyone up into the living room and tell them about the email and then I tell them that I think that's where Peter is and some of them agreed like nat and client and vision but Steve was still skeptical about it and sam too.
They agreed to it though in case I was right we are all desperate.
We all suit up and leave.
It takes up about a day to get there and we sneak in and I look at a blueprint of place that Friday sent me and then we hear footsteps running and then yelling.
They charged at us and Steve said "go look for peter okay we got this here," I said "you sure" he nodded and said "bring him back" I nod and leave. I walk to the part of the ship where I think he would be kept and I looked for about 45 minutes and then I come to a locked door.
I kick it open and see him curled into a ball on a bed he looked so small and tired.
He looked asleep.
I walk over and shake him a little and he jumped up and I said "hey calm down calm down" he didn't seem to he just seemed to be even more freaked out. I start to take a step forward but he took a step backward and i said "hey buddy it's okay" i take the helmet completely off and step out of the suit i say "it's tony okay" he looked down and was mumbling something but i couldn't make out what it was i say "peter you have to come with me okay we are getting out of here" he slowly fell to the ground and I said "Peter what's wrong" while bending down with him he was still mumbling something and I said "peter please" he finally spoke up a little and he kept saying "it's not really" over and over again.
I say "honey I'm real okay I promise that I am real" he just nodded no and I grabbed his hand and he quickly pulled away and I said "Pete buddy your gonna have to work with me here I promise that I'm real I swear but your gonna need to get up and come with me" he finally looked up and you could really see how damaged he was. He swallowed hard and started to move to get up but then he started screaming and grabbing his neck I quickly grab him and hold him still and muffled his scream.
A few minutes later he finally stopped and his body went limp and he was breathing hard there's nothing on him causing that so it must be an implant of some kind.
I pull him away and he still looked like he was in pain I said "can you walk" he didn't do anything I said "Peter" he nodded yeah and we both got up.
I said "do you wanna get in the suit" he quickly nodded no and I nod and make it follow us out. We hear fighting and he looked scared. I said "peter we brought a helicopter, okay we just need to make it there" he was still mumbling "this isn't real" I sigh and said "we will make it out I promise" he didn't do anything to that and then it went silent. I look around and only see the avenger's I say "come on peter let's go" but something seemed wrong.
I say "what-what what's wrong" and then I stand up and Steve looked at me and smiled and was kind of breathing hard.
I look down at Peter and then I heard "do you really think that I would just let you take him" i said "what the hell" and then Peter started screaming again grabbing his neck I quickly bend down and yell "stop it" but didn't I shout "STOP IT YOUR KILLING HIM" but it still didn't stop.
Everyone was now surrounding Peter and me and Steve go search for whoever is doing this to him and we make it to the front of the ship and see a big door and kick it open and see him holding a button.
I charge at him and he just deflected it and I fell backward and I yell "stop it" he laughed and said "but I just love hearing him scream it's like music to my ears" I yell "stop it" while pounding on the forcefield around him. And then I find a weak spot and I break it in a matter of seconds and get the button out of his hand and toss it to Steve which caught it.
I blast at Aldrich and he gets knocked backward and hit his head on the wall and didn't move.
I run back to Peter and he was laying on the ground breathing really hard and his body was shaking and Sam was checking him over and then he lifted up his sleeves to reveal the awful truth that this place did to him.
There were two white bandages on both his wrist.
Sam looked up at me and I slightly nod and then pulled them down and said "physically he's got bruising in his abdomen and probably a few broken ribs but other then that he seems to be fine" I nod and bend down with him like everyone else and said "are you okay" he nodded but his eyes were still closed and he was still breathing hard.
He didn't move through and I said "we have to go" he nodded and then started to get up but I heard "don't you know that it's rude to leave without saying goodbye"I look up and see Aldrich he was smiling and Peter looked terrified and Aldrich just smiled. Peter leaned his back against a box and didn't take his eye's off of him.
I look back at Aldrich and say "Steve take him" he said "ton-"I yell "take him" Steve nodded and then picked the kid up and of course he fought but they all left.
I say "are they ready Friday" he said "yes sir" and I nod and climb into the suit and power it up again and say "have a good time in hell" and then I push a button and there was a distant explosion and they kept getting closer and I fly away and out of the ship right before the whole thing exploded.

I see the helicopter and fly past it back to shield headquarters.
We all make it there and I am waiting patiently to see Peter and he finally walks out and he somehow looked smaller than at that place. He looked up and saw me and stopped walking I smile at him but he didn't smile back he just stood there.
I walk over and grab him and hug him and he just started crying. He felt like he was holding on for dear life like if he let go he would just fall deeper and deeper. I heard a muffled sorry from him over and over again and even a few I'm sorry's.
I whispered "you don't have to be sorry you never have to be sorry" he didn't do anything.

We took Peter to the hospital to check for anything.
And to take the implant out. It took a lot of convincing for him to be put under but finally, he fell asleep which I was thankful for. He stayed asleep for a while.
They were pumping fluids for him he was extremely malnourished and of course the self-harm scars.
I made them turn the light's off and to make sure no one else came in so he would get as much sleep as he needed without being woken up by the door opening. In the middle of the night though he shot up gasping for air and his eyes were moving non stop looking around I quickly stand up and run over to the lights and turn them on and he still looked scared and was breathing hard.
I walked over and i sit at the edge of the bed and said "Pete buddy, it's okay i'm here just take deep breaths in and out" he didn't at first but I say "come on do it with me in and out"I do it and finally he started to calm down and let a couple shaky breaths out I let a breath out and he still looked scared and then looked down at his wrists and swallowed hard.
He quietly shakily said "i-i'm sorry," I said "stop it with the sorry's you have nothing to be sorry about" he didn't say anything.
An hour later a doctor walked in and started talking to Peter but Peter wasn't really wanting to talk to the doctor left and said he would come back in a few hours to see if anything changed.
Peter ended up falling asleep. He was still asleep when the doctor came back and pulled me out and asked "does he still seem like a harm to himself" i said "i-i don't know he hasn't really talked to me" he nodded and said "well I'm going to keep him here just to keep an eye out for the next week and if he seems to be better then we will start talking about discharging him"I nod and said "thanks for all the help Stephen" he nodded and said "no need to thank me this is my job" I nod and then he walked away and I walked back to the room and take a seat and wait for him to wake back up.