AN: Hey guys! This fic takes place in a world where the Avengers have all resolved Civil War and everyone lives happily ever after. Also, we're just assuming that the things Tony injected into his arms during Iron Man 3 don't work anymore or never existed or something. Why? Cause plot.

So… this fic is almost entirely written already. Which means that I know exactly where it's going. And it gets dark. And kinda fucked up. So, uh, be ready for that. I creeped myself out writing this, no joke. I've been working on it for weeks because I've been walking away from it for days on end just to detox. So, yeah.

BUT I'm also very proud of it? I have a lot of feelings.

Anyway: thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy the deepest, darkest parts of my evil mind XD

WARNINGS: kidnapping, non-consensual drug use, endangerment and torture (?) of a minor, explicit language

They grab Peter right out from under Tony's nose.

He had taken the kid out for dinner. It was supposed to be a celebration of Peter making straight A's all semester. It was supposed to be fun. A moment between Tony and Peter, not Iron Man and Spider-Man. Something for the two of them to remember.

They were sitting in the corner of a chaotic buffet, eating greasy pizza off of a sticky table, when the gunshots started.

Tony lunged for the kid, pulling him underneath the table in a rush of adrenaline. He used an arm to cushion the Peter's head as they slammed into the crumb-ridden floor. Tony curled himself around the teenager, using his body as a human shield.

"What-" Peter gasped, weakly struggling underneath this mentor.

"I don't know, Peter. Now hush."

A voice, muffled slightly by what Tony assumed was a balaclava or ski mask, boomed across the restaurant.

"I want Tony Stark and the teenager with him to walk out here with their hands up."

Tony's heart stopped.

They wanted Peter.

"Stay here." He hissed, shifting off of the kid and letting himself, in a moment of weakness, brush a shaking hand against his lower back. Solid. Warm. Alive. "Do not move. Do you understand?"

"But Tony…"

Something in him flinched at the kid using his first name. He shoved it away for another time. "Shut up, kid. Everything is gonna be fine."

And then he stepped into the open.

Two men, decked out in bulletproof vests and ski masks, lunged forward and hauled him away from the table. One of them tore off his watch and bracelets that called the suit. Shit. There were about a dozen more armed men scattered around the room. Terrified people were huddling on the ground all around him, staring up at the billionaire with wide eyes. Mothers clung to their sobbing children.

Tony felt like an asshole. This was his fault.

"Where's the child?" A man, presumably their leader, snarled.

"You don't need him."

"Ah, but I'm afraid I do." The man cocked his head to the side. "Peter Parker! If you do not surrender in the next thirty seconds, I'll blow Tony Stark's brains out. Please comply. I would hate to make this messy with so many... young eyes around."

Tony's heart dropped through the floor. Peter would never risk his mentor's life, even if he should.

Sure enough, the teenager stumbled out from under the table with his hands raised. He studiously avoided Tony's eyes.

"Hello, Mister Parker." The leader turned to his men. "Take the others and put them out on the street. We have all we need and I'd rather not risk any collateral damage."

Within minutes, the restaurant was empty except for Tony, Peter, and the masked men.

"Good. Now, continue as we planned."

Suddenly, six of the men broke away and headed straight for Peter. The one at the front ripped off his mask as he went. He slid a syringe out of his pocket and pulled off the cap with his teeth, spitting it towards Tony with a smirk.

Tony's heart sunk. They knew that Peter was Spider-Man. Why else would they sedate a teenage kid and not Tony Stark?

Peter leapt into action, but he was outnumbered and unprepared. On top of that, Tony could tell he was pulling his punches. He managed to drop two of the men before the unmasked one jabbed the syringe into his arm. Within seconds, the kid was stumbling into a wall and fighting desperately to stay on his feet. The remaining men seized his arms and forced him to his knees. As he went down, Peter blearily ripped an arm free and hit the made who'd injected him hard across the face. The blow sent him sprawling.

"What the hell?" The man exclaimed, struggling to his feet and cradling his no doubt broken face. "That's enough sedatives to take down a damn elephant."

Another soldier injected a second vial into Peter's arm, and the kid slouched forward. He scrabbled sluggish hands against his captor's arms, movements growing weaker by the second.

"T'ny. T'ny. Help."

"Peter!" He yelled, flinging himself against his own guard's hold. "Get the hell away from him!"

"Adorable." The leader said. "But futile. Bring him here, Thrust."

The man who'd originally injected Peter, Thrust, apparently, let go of his swelling face and grabbed the teenager's upper arm, hauling him over to the leader. "Here you go, Boss."

The leader slid off his glove and ran his finger down Peter's cheek. The kid weakly pulled away, head lolling sideways. "N-no. T'ny."

"Don't fucking touch him. You fucking hear me, asshole? Get your filthy hands off of him."

They ignored him completely. The leader grabbed Peter's chin roughly and looked into his glassy eyes with a clinical expression. "He's still conscious. How fascinating. I knew his metabolism was impressive, but that is surprising."

"He's not a fucking science experiment." Tony snarled. "He's a kid."

"Why can he not be both, Mister Stark?" The leader let go of Peter's face abruptly, and he teenager's head dropped forward painfully. Tony winced in sympathy as the teenager let out a little whimper. "You are blinded by your affection for the boy. Any respectable scientist would recognize the opportunity your little pet presents. Tell me, Mister Stark, have you truly not been tempted to study the child?"

"I have studied him." Tony snapped. He glanced at Peter nervously. The kid seemed to have gone completely limp in his captor's arms. For a second, he assumed that the drugs had completely incapacitated him. Then, he noticed Peter meet his eyes. They were still glassy, but there was a spark there.

He's already burning through the sedatives, he realized, and Peter is just laying low until he's strong enough to fight.

Tony had to stall.

"Have you?" The leader strolled over to Tony. "And tell me, what have you learned?"

"That he's fucking brilliant. And he's going to kick your ass."

"Oh, are you referring to the fact that his metabolism is already making quick work of the drugs we gave him?" Tony's heart sunk. It must have shown in his face, too, because the leader barked out a cynical laugh. "Please, Mister Stark. Did you think I wouldn't notice?" He turned to Thrust. "I think it's time for Plan B, don't you?"

Thrust smiled gleefully. "Right away, Sir."

He gestured for one of the men to come over, and quickly unzipped one of the compartments on his backpack. He pulled out a metal cylinder and walked over to Peter with a bounce in his step.

Tony didn't know what the hell it was that he had, but he knew that he didn't want it anywhere near that kid.

"What the fuck is that?" The soldiers holding him were fucking strong. "What are you doing to him?"

Once again, not even a single head turned his way. Thrust twisted the cylinder, and small claw clutching a metal chip the size of Tony's palm emerged from one end. Peter started struggling once he saw it. Another soldier hastily jabbed yet another syringe into Peter's arm, injecting what Tony assumed was another wave of sedatives into the poor kid. Once he'd quite struggling and went limp in his guard's arms, eyes half-lidded, Thrust snatched his left arm and twisted it so that his inner forearm was exposed.

"Hold him still."

And then he slid a knife out of his sleeve and fucking cut the kid's arm open.

That definitely woke the kid up. Even drugged to the gills, he jerked away and let out a strangled yell.

Thrust kept his grip on his arm and jabbed the claw into the gash, pressing a button on the side as he did so. The device made a weird snick noise and then Peter screamed.

"Peter!" God, that was the worst sound Tony had ever heard, and he'd heard his own heartbeat stop. "Peter!"

Thrust pulled the device out and another soldier stepped in to hastily close the wound. It was a shit job, each stitch was crude and lopsided, but it would help stop the bleeding, at least. By the time he was finished, Peter had gone completely lax.

"What was that? What the fuck did you do to him?"

The leader turned to him. Tony couldn't see his face, but something told him that he was smiling. "Just a simple device. It has a long acting sedative implanted. It should be effective for upwards of a month. I designed it myself with our sweet little Peter's enhanced metabolism in mind. It also has a few extra goodies. You'll see the effects of them soon enough, Mister Stark."

"I'm going to fucking kill you." Tony imagined how it would feel to watch the life fade from the man's eyes. How it would sound to hear him beg.

"A nice fantasy," the leader said, gesturing for his men to drag Peter towards the backdoor, "but a futile one. Please secure Mister Stark to one of these chairs. We can't have him following us, after all. It'll ruin all our fun."

No. No. They were going to take Peter, and leave Tony. He couldn't let them. Tony had to protect him.

"No! Peter!" No matter how much he struggled, his guards just hauled him into a seat and started binding him in place with an assortment of rope and duct tape.

The kid blinked blearily in the direction of his mentor when he heard his name. "'ny?"

Shit. Whatever they put in his arm was doing its job. He was impressed that Peter could even lift his head, he looked so terrible. "Kid! Kid, listen to me. I'm going to find you. Whatever they do, remember that I'm coming, okay? I'm coming."

They were shoving open the exit now. Peter was still forcing his gaze on his mentor. "Coming?"

"Yes, Peter. I'm coming. I'm going to get you out. I promise."

They dragged him out of sight, and Tony felt like he'd lost some vital piece of himself.

The leader laughed as he leaned against the doorway. The two soldiers who had been binding Tony in place finished and slid past their boss without a word. Now, it was just him and Tony.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, Mister Stark. Especially not to children. They'll believe anything, you know."

Something in his tone made Tony's blood run cold. "I swear to you, it's a promise I intend to keep. I will find him."

"You can try."

The door slammed shut, and Tony's heart broke.

AN: Are there a million other things I should be working on right now? Yes! Do I already have FOUR in-progress fics? Yes! Is that going to stop The Muse? Nope!

If you liked this, shoot me a review! I seriously live for interacting with you guys and hearing what you think. I love it. And I love all of you 3