SUMMER JOB || Peter Parker X Reader

Chapter 12: Accusations

The atmosphere in the room changed considerably once the man came fully into view. He was tall - though it might have just been the platform he was standing on - and noticeably disheveled - though that might have been a side effect of teleportation. The one thing that was certain though; he was not part of the demonstration.

Peter glanced anxiously at you.

"Uh-" You started.

The man pulled out a pistol, aiming it at Stark's head.

"Get down!" Stark roared.

The room burst into action. Laurie dropped to the ground and rolled under a nearby table, pulling Lee with her. Uncle Tommy barreled towards Theo, who was standing the closest to the man, tackling him behind the teleportation device and shielding him there. You scrambled backwards, falling onto your elbows in your haste and dropping the laptop.

Stark tapped his watch twice, and an Iron Man gauntlet materialized over his arm. "Who are you and what do you want." It was a demand, not a question.

Someone tugged at your arm, pulling you under a table. You glanced back, seeing Lee let go of you. You could see Uncle Tommy, Theo and May all huddled behind Ben. The rest of the mezzanine was either behind turned over tables, equipment or had scattered.

Peter was nowhere to be seen.

"Nice little function you've got here." The man said, tossing the tennis ball up and down in one hand, the other still wrapped around the pistol.

Stark stood his ground as the man moved forward. "I don't know if you knew this, but terrorism is illegal here in the U.S."

"Terrorism?" The man questioned. "I wouldn't consider this terrorism."

"What would you consider it then?" Stark asked. "You're holding a loaded gun."

"Is it loaded?" The man paused, aiming at the glass railing and firing. The glass shattered as the bullet flew through it. "Guess it is." He shrugged. "I was thinking more public stunt than terrorism, but if that's where you want this to go, we can take it there." He twisted his arm, aiming at Uncle Tommy instead.

"Motherfucker don't you dare." Laurie growled. Lee wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her under the table.

The man only briefly looked at her before refocusing on Stark. "You're a real smart man Tony Stark."

"And what of it." Stark said, eyes flicking between the man, the gun, Uncle Tommy, and the rest of the venue.

"You should be able to figure out why I'm here then." The man said. "Look around us. Tell me why I'm here."

"You're a fan of the food court." Stark said. "I mean, I am too, but it's nothing to shoot people over. Let's just put that gun-"

The man sighed, firing into Uncle Tommy's leg.

Laurie screamed, lunging forward, only for Lee to pull her back. You felt tears start to trickle down your face, unable to look away from the patch of blood starting to seep into Uncle Tommy's pants.

"Stop, just stop." The man said. "You're not stalling or solving anything with the dumb jokes. I'm here because of this." The man said, waving his hand around the room, gesturing to the rest of the venue. "Look at this place. Look at all the money poured into this event. Look at all these hopeful young kids, thinking that this could be them some day."

Lee choked a sob back next to you. Laurie was beating at his chest, trying to break his grip on her.

"I'm here because of you, Tony Stark." The man said. "You, and all the men like you. The one percent, if you will. You're the problem with the world. Hoarding all the wealth and resources, and only playing at helping people, pretending you're a good person while the rest of the world dies!" He was shouting now, his hand shaking as he held the gun.

"Listen-" Stark started.

"No! No, you listen!" The man shouted, aiming at Stark now instead.

That was his mistake. Stark fired his gauntlet, charging the man, but he dodged easily, pressing the button on the side of his watch. A thin, bubble-like sheen enveloped him.

The man blinked out of existence.

Stark lowered his gauntlet.

The man reappeared a few hundred feet away, and fired at Stark's side.

Stark collapsed, taking the bullet hard. Someone- maybe May - sobbed, but Stark just rolled, ignoring the growing red blotch in his suit and trying to stand, re-arming his gauntlet. With a thwip, something attached over the man's head.

"You'll all remember the name TelePro!" The man was saying, a manic smile on his face as he raised the pistol to fire again. "You'll remember me as a savior-"

Spider-Man swung into the scene, knocking TelePro off the mezzanine and down to the first floor with a well aimed kick. The man toppled to the ground, you heard the gun go off again, followed by a chorus of screams, and Spider-Man jumped down after him.

As soon as the mezzanine was clear, Lee let Laurie go and she sprinted over to her father, who groaned, falling against your project clutching his leg. Lee whipped out his phone, quickly dialing 911. "Hello, yeah, I-I'm at the Stark building, there's some kind of terrorist... two people h-have been shot..."

Stark got up from the ground, ripping off his suit jacket and stuffing it against his side. He hobbled over to the destroyed railing, leaning on the remains for support and armed his gauntlet.

"Sir, I dont think you should-" Theo started.

"Just get him somewhere safe and make sure he doesn't loose too much blood." Stark said, moving to the stairs.

Laurie untied the flannel around her waist, re-tying it around her father's leg instead. "You're going to be okay Dad." She said, her voice cracking near the end.

You finally felt safe to move out from under the table, and you shakily made your way over to your Uncle. His face was pale, and he was breathing heavy.

Everyone looked a mess - Laurie was crying uncontrollably, and Lee's hand was shaking as he held his phone. Theo seemed to be in shock, just blankly staring at Uncle Tommy's leg while May tried to fashion a more sturdy bandage out of Laurie's flannel.

Peter was still absent.

Another gunshot went off and you flinched, covering your ears. There was more scuffling to be heard from down on the ground level, as well as sirens starting to pile up outside. By now, most of the guests had escaped, but there would be no moving Uncle Tommy until help arrived.

You were praying help arrived soon.