Hold Onto Me 'Cause I'm a Little Unsteady

Chapter One

When Peter finally comes to, both his siblings are already awake.

Morgan's crying, chin touching her chest as her shoulders tremble, quieted sobs escaping her throat.

Harley's trying to keep her calm, murmuring soft reassurances, but they don't go very far.

Peter's head is pounding, matching the beat of his racing heart as he lifts his head.

The room is dark and small, a low ceiling with a dirty floor. It smells strongly of chemicals like they tried to clean the room before dumping the kidnapped children in it.

Peter's sitting against one wall whereas the other two are opposite him. All three of them are strapped to metal chairs, thick cuffs holding their ankles and wrists against it and Peter has another thick one around his waist.

"Mor?" Peter calls out hoarsely.

Both heads spin to his direction, eyes wide with worry.

"They- They were injecting you with something," Harley says quickly. "They said they needed more time before you awoke so they drugged you up or something. It must've been strong. You've been out for at least an hour."

"Are you okay?" Peter asks instead. "Have you seen them?"

"No. They were wearing ski masks. Typical criminals, I guess. They know you're Spider-Man, though. They know who you are. We're both fine. They just drugged you and left," the teenager says, glancing over Peter again.

"I'm fine," Peter says, pushing the attention off himself again. He doesn't care. Even if he were dying agonizingly, he wouldn't care. His number one priority is his siblings.

"What do we do?" Morgan's voice is quiet and soft, shaking as she tries to slow her tears down. Her eyelashes are wet and sparkle beneath the single lightbulb hanging above them.

Peter looks around, taking in everything. He can't escape the cuffs, he knows it's vibranium. He knows he's not making it out of here. Their watches are gone, the web shooters, their phones. Everything. No way for them to be tracked here.

"We lay low," he decides. "You let me call the shots. You stay quiet and you let me do this."

"No!" Harley exclaims, fists clenching. "You're not fucking do that again, Peter. You need to stop with the heroics. You don't need to kill yourself to protect us."

"I heal." Peter's voice has dropped to barely above a whisper. "I heal, Lee. I won't let you two get hurt, so please, please, let me do this."

"I can't just-" Harley rolls his eyes, taking a deep breath to clear the emotion from his voice. "I can't let you take all the hits here, Peter. I can't- I can't lose you. I can't watch that. I won't."

Peter tugs at his restraints, desperately wishing he could save them. Peter's voice comes out angrier than he wished it would've, but he's scared.

"I heal, Harley! I heal, so I'm going to take the hits, okay? Don't fight me on this one. I'm not doing this to be heroic, I'm doing this so that maybe Dad and Pops won't have to lose their fucking kids, okay?" There are tears already burning at his eyes and he blinks them away desperately. He has to be strong. He has to be brave for them.

"They won't be able to lose you either," Harley growls. He knew this would eventually come up. "They'd be heartbroken if they lost any of us, you included."

"Let me do this," Peter begs, letting the anger crumble away from him. "Let me take care of you. Please."

Morgan cuts in before Harley can respond. "Peter's right, Lee. He's right and you know it. He's been in danger more often than we have. Let's let him take the lead."