Finding Their Way Home

Chapter Twenty-Six

"I am going to kill that boy." Tony muttered, angrily pacing a hole into the floor of his living room. Pepper sat on the couch, her fists clenched in worry. The other Avengers were spaced out around the room while Rhodey attempted---key word: attempted---to calm him down. "I swear I'm gonna do it."

"You're not going to kill him." Rhodey said. "He's a kid, Tones---"

"Yeah! My kid!" Tony cried. "My kid is out who-fucking-knows-where with an unhinged assassin---" Steve winced but said nothing, knowing better than to intervene whenever Tony got into one of these moods. "---walking straight into a trap! And we don't know where they are!"

"Why does he keep running from us?" Pepper asked, her voice hoarse as her eyes watered. "We only want to help. We just want..."

Tony sighed, walking over to his distressed wife and hugging her tightly. "I swear to you Pep," he said. "I swear I'm going to bring our boy home."

"But what if---"

"No." Tony said firmly. "There is no 'what if'. I refuse. Tony Stark said no and everyone knows what I say goes."

Pepper let out a soft chuckle. "Yes we do." she said.

"Are you sure there wasn't any kind of sign?" Clint asked, pushing off the wall. "Maybe he left a note or something?"

"Peter didn't leave a note." Tony said with a scowl.

"Not Peter," Clint sighed. "Barnes."

"What?" Tony asked, his eyebrow raising. "Why the hell would he leave a note?"

Clint just gave Tony a deadpan stare. "Tony, Barnes went through a lot of work to keep Peter safe in the past," he said. "Do you really think he would just rush off into danger with him headfirst without a backup plan?"

Tony did. But he wasn't going to tell Clint that. So instead he turned around and began to walk to the room that Bucky had been staying in for the short time that he had been at the tower. Clint snickered behind him as the rest of the Avengers followed.

The room was empty, the bed made. It was like no one had ever stayed in the room in the first place. Tony frowned as he started going through the drawers looking for any clue as to what was going through his brain.

"Hey Tony." Natasha called. Tony turned to see Natasha holding a folded piece of paper with a smug expression.

Tony felt a small amount of tension bleed out of him. "Well Barnes," he said, stepping forward to look at the note. "You may have earned my respect after all."

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Peter dodged as Wolf---no. As Asset threw punch after punch at Peter's face. Peter was torn. He didn't want to fight him, but he also knew that Wolf wasn't there anymore. Wolf was gone and in his place was a cold and emotionless Soldier. A Soldier who had been given order.

And Peter knew that the Winter Soldier didn't disobey orders.

Peter hissed when one of Asset's hits landed, and Peter heard more than he felt the crack. Peter webbed Asset's face with his web and used the opportunity to swing backwards, far away from the dangerous man.

With Peter safely---well as safe as one could be in this type of situation---away from the Asset, he risked a glance at the Doctor. He was standing calmly in the corner of the large room. Peter could vaguely recall this being the target room. Aunt May was on the ground by his feet and Peter clenched his jaw at the sight.

She was still unconscious and Peter didn't know if she'd been drugged or injured and it was setting him on edge. Peter was brought back into awareness when his spidey-sense screamed at him to move.