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chapter eighteen

Peter had uttered the man's name out of shock, and Tony obviously didn't hear him over the gunfire. Though, a handful of guards did quickly take notice to him and immediately rushed over. In turn, the sudden shift of the guard's positions caught the attention of the Avengers, and they figured out that they were swarming around Peter.
There wasn't much room for a reunion, so instead, they fought. The Avengers' group effort to take down the guards was successful, but difficult. The organization had assassins in charge, so you could imagine what the guards were like to fight.
     It was easy to focus on taking down the bad guy, though Peter noticed that there was vast diversity in guards. Though they all held an emotionless appearance, Peter's gut still twisted as he fought off a young pre-teen girl. She was young, meaning she was probably in training or something. Though, she was still difficult to fight.
     He couldn't stop thinking about how that could've been him. Who knows what would've happened if the Avengers didn't come in time to rescue him? He was glad that he didn't have the chance to find out.

     Eventually, the main fight was over. Peter was scooped up, and the Avengers were once again on the move. He was slung on a man's broad shoulder, giving him a front row seat of the chaos. He watched as more guards rushed around the corners of the halls and came running after them.
     The team ran out of one of the many, many broken walls, and he was forced to adjust to the violent sunlight.
     At last, he could see the building in which he was held captive, which was some huge bunker-esque place in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere. He looked at the person carrying him when the group slowed to a halt.
     "Mr. Rogers? Where are we? What's happening?" He asked, his tone delirious from the lack of basic needs.
     Steve set him down gently, —though allowing Peter's body to lean on his for support after the boy stumbled and nearly fell— and looked down at him with a tight, somewhat sad, smile. "We'll fill you in when we get back."
     And with that, Peter promptly collapsed —again— into a state of unconsciousness.

When he woke up, he found himself laying in a hospital bed. That seemed to be a common trend nowadays.
The small room was far from empty; Once he blinked away the drowsiness in his eyes, he identified the blobs of the Avengers. He immediately caught Natasha's eye, considering she was the only one who seemed to take quick notice to the fact that he was no longer unconscious. She offered a small smile, and he struggled to return a tired one. The rest of the team were quietly talking, concern present on their faces.

     An involuntary groan slipped from his mouth as he attempted to sit up. Immediately, the rest of them took notice to him.
     He winced at the sudden change from the hushed talking to a profusion of "Are you okay?"'s and "How are you feeling?"'s.
"I'm okay," he said gratefully, his heart filled with some sort of affection. He'd never had anyone care for him like this.
'Is this what family is supposed to feel like?'
The thought flickered for a moment but he pushed it away, not wanting to both invalidate Aunt May and create a place for himself among the Avengers where frankly, he didn't belong. 'Burden,' he thought, his smile faltering.
     "How long have I been... y'know..."
     "You were kidnapped for five days. We already notified your aunt and the police that you're safe," Steve said.
"Jeez kid," Tony ran a hand through his hair. "We've got a lot to talk about."
Peter nodded, swallowing hard.

     So Peter caught them up. Told them about the assassins following him, as well as their organization. And the fact that this was not the first time he'd been kidnapped. Though, their interrogation method was new! But, he didn't tell them about the 'lie detector', because then they'd be even more worried for him, and he'd be forced to talk about Two's questions.
     And... Aunt May.

     Then Tony spoke, and he was pulled from his thoughts.
     "Wait a minute, they were the ones who shot you?" Tony inquired, easily connecting the dots.
     "Yes," Peter sighed. "But I handled it."
     "Because not telling us is 'handling it'?" Tony asked in outrage. The sudden raise in his tone made Peter wince involuntarily.
     "Tony," Steve warned before looking down to Peter. "Kid, next time, you have to tell us about this stuff."
They were understandably angry, though also incredibly worried. To be completely honest, he was shocked at how much affection he was being shown.
"I know. I'm sorry," he said, picking at his nails to avoid eye contact.
     "So... What did they want with you?"
"To recruit me, I guess. They told me that they had been watching me for a while but they just suddenly decided to start my 'training'," he said, making air quotes. "They know everything about me..."
"It's okay, we'll keep you safe," Steve reassured.
"Thanks, Mr. Rogers," Peter gave a small smile.

"Okay, so," A woman walked in, flipping through some pages on a clipboard. "They definitely stunted your powers, but they should be back in time. Also, it appears that you have mildly severe burns—"
"Do you know how long it will take?" Peter cut her off, his face red. "For my powers to come back?"
"Hard to say. If they're not back within a week, we'll have to bring you in for some tests," She said apologetically.
"Okay," he nodded. "Thank you."
     She nodded and then turned back out of the room.
     "Peter? What burns—?" Tony started to ask.
     "It's nothing," the boy assured him. 'Crap, the shocks left burns?'
     "Wait," Peter's face grew pale. "They took my suit!" He pulled on his white shirt, wanting it off.
     He blinked and suddenly he was in that room again. Tied to a chair, Two's mocking face looking down on him.
     When he blinked again, and he was back with his family. He shifted in discomfort at the surreal memory and looked up to Tony to make sure he was still there.
     "Don't worry about it kid," Tony sat on the edge of the bed. "They can't do anything without you. And besides, I'll just whip you up a new one in the meantime."
     "I don't think I could accept that," he said honestly, feeling tremendously guilty about losing the suit.
     "Relax, I'm a billionaire. Plus, I care about you," he offered a smile.
     Peter immediately hugged him, whispering a string of "thank you"'s. Tony smiled and hugged back, resting his chin on the boy's head.
     Peter felt safe.
     He felt welcomed.
     And... it was almost like he was at home.
    
author's note;
i confessed to my crush and she likes me back let's goooo 😎😎