A/N: OK before you say anything, I know that it's been a while… *cough* two months *cough* I hope you know I am sincerely sorry for the wait! I'm sure I don't have to tell you guys how crazy it is. Anyways, hopefully this won't happen again. Also, the chapter is a bit shorter, cause the next one will be beefy.

Stay safe and enjoy the chapter!

Warnings: Mentions of medical equipment, blood, and mild violence.

Wednesday, October 16

6:00am

"No, he hasn't woken up yet. I know!" Tony adjusted his phone to the other ear. "I get it, okay? Just, double everything." A pause. "Yes, everything! I want twice the number of guards inside and out, and three times in front of his room. I don't want anybody in or out of this place unless I know them personally. Bye." He hung up and tucked the device back into his pocket.

Collapsing back into his chair, Tony continued what he had been doing for the past 24 hours: listening to Peter's steady breathing harmonize with the monotonous beeps of the heart monitor. His own heart hadn't seemed to be beating correctly, and the machine helped him breathe a little bit. This is exactly why he didn't notice anything until it sped up.

The high-pitched beeps became faster and began to sound like they were tripping over each other. The doctors and nurses rushed into the room in a flurry of white, surprising Tony as they shouted a few sentences that were incomprehensible to him.

Recovering from his shock, he stood and tried to see past them, tried to see Peter. "What's going on?" The nerves in his stomach went haywire, pushing bile up into the back of his throat. "What's wrong?" Tony pulled at their coats, trying to get an explanation.

"Mr. Stark!" A woman said, turning around. "Stand back, or leave." Her tone was stern, but not mean. She was trying to help Peter. He stepped back.

Then, the screams started.

They were guttural and heart-wrenching, filling the room and bouncing off of the walls. Tony flinched and covered his ears, realizing with a start that they were coming from Peter. His mind flashed back to the laboratory.

"Get out!" The boy was crying, eyes still clamped shut and sweat pouring down his pale face. He repeated it over and over, writhing around and fighting with the doctors.

One of them was bent down close to his ear, whispering, "Peter? Calm down. You're safe. You're safe" as he tried to gently push Peter's flailing arms against the bed.

"Shut up!" He yelled, then fell still.

"You're making quite the ruckus," Sinoper grunted as his counterpart sputtered and clutched his stomach on the black floor. "This could go a lot better for you if you just-"

"Just what?" Peter coughed. "Just let you take over my life? My body? I'm not going to let you use my face for… for wrong!"

The other boy walked slowly closer and bent over him. He placed a military-style black boot on Peter's chest and brought him hard onto the dark, glass-like surface. "How noble of you. Stupid, too."

Surprising Sinoper, he clamped his hands onto the shoe and shoved, springing up as his counterpart fell backwards. "How is it stupid to do what's right?"

A small trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't bother wiping it off.

They locked into a wrestle, and Peter was discovering how weird it was to fight someone that looked just like him. The only real difference between them was Sinoper's stormy gray eyes (which were still rimmed with a little black paint), but it was still strange to be basically facing his evil twin.

"It's Naive!" He growled, spittle flying onto Peter's nose. "Always expecting the best from people is a sure-fire way to get hurt! Human nature is evil." Sinoper pushed away, painting heavily. "Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool."

"That's not true. You're the naive one! You completely ignore exactly what makes mankind good: the people. The single mom who works two jobs for her kids. The best friend that comforts without being asked. The boy who helps an old lady with her groceries. The neighbor that cares silently. The mentor that is there when no one else is!" His deep brown eyes met with cool gray ones. "These are the people that make me want to be a better person, to give someone the benefit of the doubt. These are the people that make me want to stay. I want to stay!"

The statement rang in Tony's ears and silenced everyone in the room for half of a second. I want to stay. His heart throbbed.

"Stay?" He whispered to himself. Since the doctors stood in shock, Tony took advantage of the moment and rushed forward. "I want you to stay, too, bud! Come on back. You can do it…"

A tall man pulled him away. Tony recognized this as the new specialist Cho had brought in, Dr. Park. Apparently he was an expert on cognition or something like that. Whatever, Cho knows what she's doing.

Wednesday, October 16

5:00am

1 hour earlier

"You know, Dr. Cho, I had hoped to get in the conventional way, but my boss is a very impatient person." The man, Dr. Park spoke in Korean, but that was one of the languages Helen was fluent in. She stood pin straight, staring at the screen blinking in front of her. An image of her niece, sleeping in her favorite Cinderella pajamas, filled the screen.

"We need to move the operation along. So what do you say, Cho-sunbaenim?"

She flinched, delicate features marred by disgust. "You're asking me to choose between my niece and a patient, both innocent children?"

Dr. Park's clouded face was unwavering. "Yes."

"It won't work."

He shut the screen off and headed to the open doorway, pausing before exiting. "It already has," he said matter-of-factly, then slammed the door closed.

She sprang into action, grabbing her phone and sending a fumbled message to the last resort.

HCHO (5:08am): charged iphone. giant peach falling. fire dim, feed fire with this. hammer broken.

Helen trew her phone hard into the tile, watching the glass crack and the screen fade. "You're buying me a new one later, Stark."

Wednesday, October 16

6:59am

Steve sat in the shadows of the tower, waiting for Natasha to come and talk to him. He didn't want to go in and face… everything. Deep down, there was a little shame at his choice; it felt like the easy way out somehow.

His emergency flip phone fell from his pocket, bringing him out of his thoughts. He grabbed it and powered on, a few notifications from that morning popping up. As soon as Steve read the message, he knew something was wrong. He sprung up just as Nat walked tiredly from the building. Their eyes met and she smiled slightly.

"This is a mess, Steve, I-"

"Nat." His sincere blue eyes conveyed urgency.

She perked up at his serious tone. "What? What's wrong?"

As soon as Nat read the text, she cursed, jerking her head back to the entrance. "Those rats. I have to get back there."

"Wait, Natasha," Steve said, grabbing her arm.

She yanked it back, fire radiating from her eyes. "There's no time! Just shut up and follow me."

They hadn't taken a step when loud alarms sounded, along with the crash of shattering glass. The pair looked up to see black smoke suddenly pouring from a now-broken window near the penthouse of the Tower. From their spot on the ground, they could make out a small helicopter starting from the roof of the building.

Nat cursed again. "Peter."

xXx

Sweat soaked through the neckline of Peter's light gray shirt, shining on his face and arms as well. He was curled in a ball, breaths coming in short, ragged gasps, and his eyes remained stubbornly shut.

Tony sat in front of him, his right arm covering Peter's shaking form. His left arm hung limply at his side, blood dripping onto the cool metal surface beneath them.

"Touch him again," he panted. "And I'll rip you to shreds."

The room was in disarray, couches and chairs scattered in different corners. The doctor stood straight and tall as he stared them down, the small handgun glinting in the sunlight. He raised it at the pair.

His accent permeated the air as he spoke. "I shot you once, Stark, I'll do it again. I have my orders."

Deciding instead to try the cleaner method, Park strutted over and kicked Tony in the stomach. The man slid back onto his head and farther away from Peter, all the while coughing and sputtering blood.

The fake doctor grabbed Peter by the collar and dragged him toward the balcony, on which a helicopter was starting. The blades chopped the air and sent a blast of wind around them. Tony staggered to his feet, stumbling after them as fast as he could.

He caught the kid's limp hand just as the machine began to lift from the ground. Park, who had adjusted his large arm to wrap securely around Peter's waist, turned back and furrowed his brows in annoyance. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a shout from behind them.

Angela ran into the room, black hair tangled and wild, screaming. "They're right behind us!"

She dashed forward and nimbly jumped past the group into the helicopter, sliding into a seat in the front. If the circumstances were different, Tony would've been impressed.

Park swore, noting the yells from the hallway, and making another quick and calculated decision.

Nat burst into the penthouse, followed closely by Steve, Bucky, Rhodey, and Sydnie. They arrived just in time to see the large Asian doctor yank both an unconscious Peter and a startled Tony into the helicopter.

It rose into the clouds, soon disappearing from view.

A/N: We're approaching some well-deserved butt-kicking, don't worry. Thanks for reading! Love you all!

REVIEWS:

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-katilagne