Caught In A Web

Chapter One - Breathe

Breathe, breathe in the air

Don't be afraid to care

Leave but don't leave me

Look around, choose your own ground

For long you live and high you fly

And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry

And all your touch and all you see

Is all your life will ever be

-"Breathe," Pink Floyd

- - -

"I'm fine, Pete! Really!" 

"Mr. Stark, with all due respect, you haven't slept in over 48 hours and you've only had coffee since last night. Our work is important, but it can wait for you to eat your lunch."

Peter opened the door to Tony's lab, smiling as he half-pulled Tony out. Tony ruffled Peter's curls in return, the bags under his eyes not stopping him from enjoying this time with his favorite genius superpowered teenager.

"These prosthetics will change so much about amputations." Peter turned to Bucky, who had followed them out of the lab. "Imagine, Mr. Bucky, having a prosthetic arm linked directly to your nerves! You could feel again without losing any of the artificial strength!"

Bucky gave the kid a half-smile, looking at his metal arm as he flexed his fingers. 

"You know," he said, "that would be nice."

Bucky had given up on trying to get Peter to just call him "Bucky" a while ago. At least it wasn't "Mr. Barnes" anymore. Tony had told him about the idea that Peter had been brainstorming and testing for a while, a neural-linked prosthetic with artificial nerves, and Bucky had agreed to help them test it in his free time. He liked having the energy of a teenager around the Compound, it reminded him of when Steve was that age and already trying to fight people twice his size.

After Peter had a run-in with the Scorpion, Tony and the other Avengers had decided that it would be best to actually create the Stark Internship, to tinker in the lab with Peter for a few hours a day to keep him out of harm's way. That's how it had started, but now he was actually invested in these ideas. Peter really was quite smart, Tony told Pepper sometimes about how the boy easily had twice his brains and wouldn't need his help to get into MIT.

As they walked over to the elevator, Tony looked at Peter and just... saw him. Saw this boy that he had watched grow for several years now, who had become as close as a son to him. Saw his blonde curls and shining, excited eyes. The way his step bounced as he walked and he smiled as he talked about anything that he was passionate about. This kid was smart enough to rebuild computers from dumpsters and strong enough to save him from being crushed under tons and tons of concrete. He ruffled Peter's curls again, he couldn't help it.

Peter was rattling on about the logistics of certain types of wiring, but the hyperawareness that came with his powers meant that he was also focusing on everything else. The stubble on Tony's face from not shaving for a couple days. The weariness in his face that came from hardships at too early an age. The sound of the elevator coming down the shaft. The cool breeze from an open window down the hall.

He loved spending his summer days with the Avengers now that he was one. Aunt May still didn't know, and he made sure to reserve weekends all summer to stay with her, but getting to help the world the way he did as an Avenger was one of the best feelings in the world. He got to save more lives and help more people everywhere, and that's all he ever wanted.

The two of them stepped into the elevator, and Tony let Peter press the button, because Peter always had this look of glee on his face when he got to press the elevator button that Tony loved. His amazing, talented, smart kiddo still had the energy of a kid and Tony loved seeing that, because he grew up too fast to try and impress his father, and seeing Peter this happy and acting like a child meant that Tony wasn't making the same mistakes.

Just after the doors to the elevator closed, Peter's spidey sense went haywire. Tony saw the panic on his face and knew that something was wrong, and knew he was right when the elevator shuddered to a stop.

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark we're stuck, and something's happening. Something in the air."

Peter's voice was scared, and Tony knew it must be bad. He looked up at the air vent in the top of the elevator and saw again that Peter was correct. The air was getting fuzzy, some sort of thick gas was pouring in from the vent.

Peter tried the elevator doors, but they refused to budge open. He climbed partway up to the vents before dropping back down, coughing.

Tony's mind was racing. How did someone manage to plant gas here, in the Compound? How were they going to get out? Did he have a way to access FRIDAY from inside? No, he had removed a lot of his tech when they were working with electricity so that he didn't fry the circuits accidentally. He banged on the elevator doors and inhaled to call for help, but he broke down into a coughing fit instead. 

Peter couldn't think with all of the gas already clogging up his systems. He covered his face with his sleeve and tried to take small breaths. He got close to Tony and bumped into him when he coughed again. To his surprise (but not displeasure), Tony automatically wrapped an arm around him, and they both slid to the floor of the elevator.

Tony rubbed Peter's arm in an attempt to comfort him, his coughing boy who was probably in twice as much discomfort with his enhanced senses.

"It's gonna be alright, Pete. It's going to be okay."