Finding Their Way Home

Chapter Twenty-Two

Peter bolted, letting out whimpers as his bare feet collided with the broken glass shards on the floor. He needed to get out of there---now.

Just as Peter managed to pry open the door, a glove-clad hand slammed it shut. Peter ducked when his spidey-sense told him to. He narrowly managed to miss a syringe. Peter looked up to see a mask covered man staring at him with empty eyes.

"Fuck." Peter muttered before he threw a punch directly at his face. The man grabbed Peter's fist and tugged, pulling his smaller body towards him. Peter elbowed him in the gut, causing his grip to loosen and giving Peter the chance he needed to escape.

Peter tore out of the man's grasp, jumping straight onto the wall and climbing to the ceiling. Peter winced as his shredded feet were put under more force. The masked man growled when he realized that he couldn't reach Peter.

Peter was only victorious for a few seconds before his spidey-sense urged him to move. He hopped over to the other side of the ceiling just as a book collided with the spot where he'd just been. This started a round of duck and dodge as the man threw anything he could at Peter.

Peter felt himself start to tire, the bloody footprints on the ceiling making Peter's stomach roll. As exhaustion crept in, gravity worked harder to claim him. More than once Peter felt himself start to slip. "Shit!" Peter yelled when a book hit his back. Hard.

His momentary distraction gave the masked man exactly what he needed. Peter was thrown off his rhythm and more than half of the projectiles hit their mark. Peter let out another cry when a sharp trophy hit his arm.

This wasn't working. Peter needed to get out of the room. But how? The man was blocking the door, and he couldn't get on the ground---he was sure to be overpowered in such a small place. Peter was just about to cry out in dismay when out of the corner of his eye he spotted something.

A vent.

Yes! Peter felt new hope surge through him as he made a break for the vent. The masked man seemed to realize what Peter intended to do because he let out a growl and started growing more things in earnest.

A physics textbook hit his left leg and a pair of scissors skimmed his right arm, but other than that Peter managed to get into the vent unscathed. Peter took in a shaky breath as he leant his head back against the metal of the confined space.

"What the hell." Peter said to himself. He winced when he moved and pulled at the wounds on his feet. He carefully lifted them up so he could inspect them and winced at the sight of several shards still inside him.

He didn't have the time to pull them out now. Not while there was a man in his room and who knows how many more in the tower. Peter started crawling through the vents, frowning at the small blood trail he was leaving.

Hopefully they didn't try to squeeze into the vents and follow him.

"FRIDAY? Where are the Avengers?" Peter whispered. "FRIDAY please, you have to tell Tony that someone broke in."

FRIDAY wasn't responding which meant someone had taken her down. How was that even possible? Could Hydra really do that? Scoffing to himself, Peter just continued to push forward. What a stupid question. Of course they could.

They were Hydra.

___________________________________________________

Tony was still seething when the lights flickered off and a loud shattering sound filled the air. The only thing more haunting than the ominous crash was the sound of Peter screaming a second later. Followed by silence.