The monster in the walls

Live bait

"HYDRA used me... as a weapon." Peter began hesitantly. "They controlled me with a series of trigger words," he glanced at his uncle, only continuing when he gave him a reassuring smile that said, go on, it's okay, "like-like they did with uncle Bucky. And when I wasn't on missions or training, they either locked me in my cell or forced me to help their scientists. Usually building weapons."

The team stood guard in a semicircle around the bed, quietly listening to the vigilante's story. No one took their gaze off the teen but kept a wary eye on the pale-grey walls for any sign of the creatures hunting him.

Tony's grip on his husband's hand tightened when Peter said, 'my cell'. Not just any random cell; Peter had gotten so used to being thrown into a literal prison that he began to see it as his. Those nazi fucks kept his son, his baby, locked away in some cell and had ingrained in him that he'd deserved nothing less than to be treated as a feral beast. Steve echoed his husband's feelings, biting his lower lip to keep from screaming.

"One day, the head scientist, Dr. Dyatolv," he spat the name out as if it were poison, "he gave me these blueprints. I refused to comply. At first, anyway. Eventually, upon realizing I could sabotage whatever they were doing, I built the machine."

"This machine, what was HYDRA's purpose for building it?" Strange asked.

"They wanted to access other dimensions. Why I don't really know." Peter thought for a minute, thinking back on what happened. "Maybe they were searching for resources." He shrugged. "Either way, those things came out of the portal immediately. It was like they were waiting."

Bucky tensed, he moved his hands behind his back so no one could see his fisted hands. The only person to pick up on the ex-assassin's discomfort was Steve, who could discern his friend's emotions and behaviors anytime. He rested one firm hand on his friend's flesh arm, playing off the comfort as casually as possible.

"By the time the machine had self-destructed, there were nearly ten of those... of those..."

"Parasitus," Strange offered. "That's what my fellow sorcerers and I call them."

"Huh," Peter looked down at his hands, subconsciously tapping his fingers on the white blanket, "Parasite. That makes sense." He flashed the doctor a weak smile, which was eagerly returned. The cloak of levitation floated over and rested itself across the teen's lap in an attempt to comfort Peter. It did.

"Okay, so there were ten parasites in the main room off of the experiment site. The room was built of cement and steel in case of explosions or any other mishaps. Dozens of soldiers were immediately sent in." His small body shuddered, causing Natasha's and Tony's grips to tighten on him. "It didn't take long for the parasites to kill them all."

Tony brushed his fingers through his son's curls, offering physical affection as a form of comfort. "You don't have to continue, Pete."

"I do, though." Peter's gaze landed on Tony. There was so much emotion and hurt settled in those hazel orbs. His eyes took on a glassy haze as he retold his past horrors in an attempt to create a better future. "I was sent in then; to fight. Even though I was unfamiliar with them, it didn't take me long to figure out how to kill them. Using knives, I killed two. But the big one-"

Strange visibly perked up at the mention of a "big one". Everyone else tensed when Peter pulled the collar of his too-big shirt down to reveal multiple long, dark scars that marred his sickly pale skin. They ran diagonally from his left collar bone to his right side just below his ribs. There were other ones too; other scars. Whether they were from torture, missions, or brutal HYDRA training, they didn't know.

"The big one was a deep green color, with horns and a thin whip-like tail. And it had a normal mouth, you know, with a jaw. Its mouth didn't open up like a flower. Not like the others."