Tony and his Kids

Sweet Nightmares

Warnings: a knife is used to stab in this fic, but it is not gory or anything. Characters experience flashbacks in this story.

The crackling of fire and hum of a battery powered fan were the only sounds in the cave, echoing against the dark, stone walls and the former giving off just enough light for Peter to see the wall across from him. The young hero sat beside the orange flames, occasionally poking at them with a stick as he continued to wait for his mentor to come back. He had left thirty minutes ago and the teen was beginning to worry, but he tried to squash that emotions down. Mr. Stark was fine. He was Ironman. He had to be fine.

Peter sighed for the fifteenth time, no one there to hear the sound but him. He settled his chin on his knees, one arm wrapped loosely around his legs as he poked at the fire with the stick again. Mr. Stark had been well prepared for this mission, bringing matches and wood in his backpack, while Peter only had the suit on his back and the abilities given to him by the spider bite. He would have been more prepared if he knew about the mission for longer than thirty minutes before it happened... and if he was supposed to be on it. He had stowed away in the cockpit of the small quinjet, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Stark not knowing he was there until midway through the trip and they had to move the box he was hiding behind.

He had gotten one of the biggest lectures he had ever had from Mr. Stark then. The man had paced back and forth across the small cockpit, telling him how he could get hurt and that it was dangerous. He also scolded him for having convinced Friday to allow him on the mission. Mr. Rhodes had stood off to the side, face expressionless as he leaned against the far wall, arms crossed. They didn't have time to go hack to the city though. There was what people called a 'monster' living in an area near a small town and people were going missing only to come back with terrible nightmares, headaches, and a blankness to their eyes.

When they had touched ground in a woodland area, Mr. Stark decided to keep Peter at his side. The armors were packed, but only Rhodey donned his. His mentor wore his gauntlet bracelets and modified glasses, but that was it. The different apparel had been confusing until War Machine flew off and disappear passed the treeline while Mr. Stark guided him toward the entrance of a cave, telling him for the third time about all the safety measures: "You are going to do as I tell you to. You will not dive head first into danger. The only reason you're coming with me if because Rhoday is going to be flying and his weapons are mostly on his back and shoulders, which means you can't go with him and if I leave you up here, you will find a way to get into trouble. You see danger, you run. You see something suspicious, tell me."

He had since learned that the monster was often seen in the cave at night so they were going to search for its lair while Mr. Rhodey patrolled the area looking for it. Peter held his tongue when the question of if the monster was in the cave today came to mind, feeling the static between him and Mr. Stark that wasn't just from the lecture he had just been given. His mentor was having the same thoughts as him, he could tell.

Peter had hoped that the cave would be like those where you might find a bear. Short and if there was a bear, or, in this case, a monster, you could run out and then fight it if necessary. His hopes had been extinguished after a few steps, replaced by more questions. The cave sloped downward and it was a slow, silent trek until they got where the ground evened out. Barely any light reached that area and ahead of them had been pitch black until Mr. Stark brought out his flashlight and the teen didn't have to check to know that Karen couldn't reach him down here. Peter did as instructed earlier and stayed close to his mentor, not making a sound as the weight of what was going on finally settled on him, making his heart beat rapidly in his chest. Would they die here? Was that the last time Peter would see the sun? He had to forcibly shake those thoughts away and keep trudging along.