He was dying.

That's what it felt like anyways.

Usually, it's not as bad as this. Sometimes he would get bruises and cuts, then he would blame it on bullies or a random mugging to his aunt, and quickly retreat to his room.

He would come out the next day with barely any injuries at all, but this… this was different. His ankle was aching like someone had just whacked it with a hammer, and he felt like someone had just decided to throw a rave party in his head without even asking.

In other words, I think it's safe to say, Peter felt like crap, and this time it wasn't because he was Spider-Man… it was because he was Peter Parker, the very Peter Parker that helped Dr. Conners turn into a giant freak.

He never thought it would be his secret identity to get him into trouble, the very reason he wore a mask was because he didn't want to get into trouble. It was weird, seeing the gears grinding backwards in his life now, so he's forced to play the part or else someone will make a connection with his masked opposite.

"Put him with the other one." He hears a man say, and suddenly he's being lifted up from his awkward position against the wall and pushed up to his feet.

It hurt.

They push him into the cell rather forcefully, where he stumbles to the floor.

He is not alone, however, because in the corner there is someone in worse shape than he is.

He figures it's someone like him, or a dead person. He wouldn't be surprised if it was either, but it doesn't matter because now apparently this person huddling in the corner was his cellmate for the time being.

"Alright, let's get out of here. Boss wants us."

When they leave he lets go a shaky breath he didn't know he was holding in. This was a dangerous position he was in. He knows they know about aunt May, and no doubt will they use it to threaten him for… whatever they wanted with him.

All he knew was that he was here because they knew he had helped Dr. Conners create the formula that had created the man's significant slimy opposite.

After claiming the corner opposite of his cellmate, he lets his head drop against the wall. It is then that he gets to examine the person across from him, when listening closely he could hear raspy breaths and shudders escape from the individual.

Nice. He's alive.

That's great. Now he won't be lonely. Right? If the man could even talk that is, who knew what happened to him. How did he even come to be here anyways? Maybe he should ask him. Maybe… that wouldn't be a good idea… actually… what if the guy was a psycho crazy person?

"K-Kid."

It's just a whisper, but Peter hears it. The voice belongs to a man, he realizes, and when the man lifts up his head to look over his shoulder Peter can say that he's genuinely surprised to see the face of the person staring at him. Tony. Tony Stark. Tony Stark with bruises and cuts all over his face that made Peter just want to shake in his skin.

Man. What happened to him?

"Yes?" He says, and he's rather surprised how normal his voice sounds despite being in incredible pain.

"W-W… What… d-day…" Tony seems to be having trouble speaking, and he looks like he really wants to finish the sentence. Peter knows what he means though, he's probably asking what day it is… and the only thing he remembered was it being December, two weeks before Christmas hit them all in the face. He could already hear the carols ringing in his ears.

"Two weeks. Before Christmas." He says because he doesn't know which day of the month it was today.

Tony nods.

Peter stares at Tony and it occurs to him that he probably would have never had seen this weak state of a billionaire who was known to go out with women and drink booze rather than work responsibly as a CEO if he hadn't ever helped Dr. Conners turn himself into a Lizard.

Funny how things went huh?

"Excuse me for asking, but… why are you here Mr. Stark?"

Tony shudders at the name; Peter is afraid to say anymore.

"J-Just c-..call me Tony."

Peter nods. Yeah. Tony. He's now on a first name basis with one of the smartest men on Earth, as much as he would like to fanboy… he's not exactly in the best spot to fanboy at all.

"I'm here…. b-because t...they want s-something, I- I don't remember."

Man. If Peter were in Tony's shoes right now, he wouldn't be so proud of the state he would be in right now, talking to some kid on the other side of the cell.

"W-What about you?"

Peter feels guilty he didn't ask about how Tony was feeling because the man was stuttering immensely. He answers anyways, "Not sure if I should be telling you, it's… a personal matter."

Geez, talk about Peter being a jerk. Could you possibly do any better? But despite this, Tony nods in understanding.

"I'm Peter." He tries.

"T-Tony S...Stark…. but you k-know that already."

Peter narrows his eyes.

"Tony. Where are you hurting?"

Tony narrows his eyes too and it's obvious he doesn't want to reveal his weakest points to some kid he just met, but… really… if he wanted to get out of here alive he would probably have to deal with it.

"R-Ribs. Hurts."

Broken or bruised ribs? Great. Poor Tony. Peter could sympathize because as a masked vigilante… he got multiple injuries everywhere.

"... Sorry."

Tony stares at Peter. He knows Peter can't do much for him, but Tony just nods, biting his bottom lip in pain.

Now this was a sight to behold. One he would prefer not to see.

"G-Got a family kid?"

Peter nods. Yeah. His aunt. She's pretty awesome, she makes kickass sandwiches and she's pretty spectacular. She could throw a punch, she had awesome cooking skills, and what else was there to say? She was awesome and she would be dead if he didn't see this through.

"My aunt."

Tony shifts and sits up against the wall and Peter thinks it's to grasp a better look of Peter. He probably looked like a mess because… well… he felt like a mess. He could feel his moppy hair sit against his head sadly, and he could feel the dry dirt all over his face.

"P-Parents?"

He shakes his head, Tony smiles. Weird.

"Me nei-ither."

Ah. Oh. OH. He had never even thought of Tony's parents ever. I mean, he did know that his parents existed some part in some point of time but he really didn't know anything about them other than the fact that they were now deceased. Poor Tony. But he probably doesn't want Peter to pity him, he knows, because Peter doesn't want Tony to pity him either.

They spent the rest of the day in silence.

When Tony was pushed out of the cell and returned with a black eye and a hand around his side… he knew that the encounter with their captors probably didn't end well. He doesn't know what they were interrogating him for… but he actually doesn't want to know. He's too busy finding a way how to keep his aunt alive and more importantly himself alive so he could take care of his aunt.

It's when the guards came in that he knew it was his turn.

He's pushed up to his feet once again, and that's when he meets Tony's eyes staring into his. Almost like a child. It's then, that he feels that desperate want to help Tony.

He looks away and is pushed out just in the manner Tony was pushed out earlier, by rough hands.

Today, he notes, he is introduced into a new room. It's white, like the rooms you would keep a psychotic man in, and there's a table in the middle waiting for him.

He's forced to sit down.

And it hurts.

"Peter."

He looks up and is found to be in eye contact with his captor, a man with a gruff beard and a scar over his nose. It would be wise not to ask where it came from, he figures, so his mouth stays shut.

"I'm Steward."

Such a normal name but so was Peter. Was that even his name though? Maybe Steward was just some cover up. His name was probably much more intimidating than that.

"Hi." Peter manages to say.

"Do you know why you're here?"

Yes. Of course he knew he was here.

"Dr. Conners."

The man nods.

"Yes. You helped him out with the formula… and we want that formula, so would you be so kind to give it to us?"

Hah. Give the formula to a man who was holding a super hero captive and a wimpy kid? He thinks not.

"No."

Steward twitches. He must have a short patience like all of the villains he's faced so far, well, other than Doctor Doom who had enough patience to plan out entire genius plans, but he didn't face Doctor Doom often because Doctor Doom was a Fantastic Four villain. They had it covered.

"What do you mean no? Are you aware of the situation you are in?"

A nod. Steward growls.

"Well Peter." He spats, saying his name with such conviction, "Maybe we can change your mind."

Peter wants to bark a laugh. He obviously didn't know who Peter was but who was he to expect this idiot knew his alternate identity? Besides, the good cop suddenly turned roughly into a bad cop, obviously… some hurting was involved.

He slumps against the wall and it's painful. His back is stinging, his hands are on fire, and it hurts to take deep breaths. Maybe it's because of all of the punches in his gut, which were probably the cause of a big nasty bruise he could feel forming.

Now he knows how Tony feels.

Torture sucked.

"What did they do to you?"

Tony seems healthier today, Peter even sees bandages around Tony's shirtless back, and he's slightly relieved to see it. He wanted to help Tony earlier, but he didn't have anything to really help Tony out with. He was completely useless.

Peter then eyes Tony's weird blue glowing thing on his chest he thought was only on his suits.

Weird.

"I… Punches. Kicks." He manages to mumble, his eyes are drifting now and he's feeling oddly drowsy. He wants Gwen and he wants to lay his head on her lap while she's threading her fingers through his hair lovingly like on that one date they had when they went to go check out the fireworks on New Years. Thinking of it though just made him miss Gwen even more and he missed being healthy. It's weird how you never really appreciate your health until you catch a cold and feel stupidly miserable. That's how he felt now. Maybe Tony felt like that too.

"Bastards." Tony spats. Peter grins. It's nice to see Tony talking more, maybe he'll even get to know the guy, and if they got out of this… maybe later in life Tony can point at him and say something like, "Hey that's the guy who was tortured with me!"

That was one hell of a way to make a friend.

"So." Tony states, looks like he wants to make conversation, "How old are you?"

A basic question Peter knows he can answer, and he's thankful for that.

"Sixteen."

Tony flinches, it's almost as if Peter just attacked him telepathically.

"You're… young."

Peter laughs.

"Yep. Younger than you Tony."

Tony gasps.

"Well! I'll tell you that I am not old. I'm still in my Thirties!"

"Which is old."

"Which is the new twenty!" He counters.

Peter grins and even though he can taste the blood seeping through his gums, plastering itself to his teeth, he feels that his smile is a genuine one.

"So… aren't you the leader of the new Avengers?" He asks, because the Avengers had just formed and destroyed a whole entire alien race. Besides, as stupid as the question might be, he just wants to make conversation.

"Yeah. Iron Man." Tony points to himself.

Yeah. Spider-Man. Peter is tempted to say, but he won't say it. It's a dangerous business being a vigilante. No telling of the identity, even if it's to a superhero bro.

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"What's it like… flying around in a suit saving people?" He tries again.

Tony shrugs.

"It's… fine. I mean, it saves people, and it even protects me."

Peter can't relate. He doesn't have a metal suit, but what he does relate to is the saving people part. He saves people because he doesn't want what happened to his uncle Ben happening to anyone else. He doesn't need to see it again.

"I have to give it upgrades time from time, but cap keeps telling me I should start training physically and stop relying on my suits." Tony chuckles, and his eyes are filled with fondness.

"What's it like working with Captain America?"

Tony smirks.

"He's one hell of a fighter, I got to tell him that if I make it out."

If.

"He probably hasn't even noticed I'm gone."

Okay. Now that was sad.

Peter, now that he had thought about it, probably had the police out looking for him because he was 'normal' in the eyes of the public. He probably had a newspaper article about him by now. Tony probably had one too, knowing that he was a popular figure. Actually, he probably had millions of articles about him, just not one single article.

"I'm sure he's looking for you."

Tony stares at Peter, all hope is lost in his expression. It's a sad sight to behold.

"Yeah. We had a fight before this. Think he'll be too angry to go looking for me."

Oh man. He wasn't good with these kind of things. He really didn't have a lot of friends to yell at or to even argue with, so giving advice was not his forte, especially if that advice is for the cocky Iron Man. But… he wasn't so cocky anymore. He looked so empty sitting in his corner.

He hears a door rattle, and a man comes in dropping two plates in front of Peter and Tony, and walks away without even looking at them.

"Breakfast is served." Tony grumbles, picking up the plate and wincing at the horrid food. Peter knows though that he needs to eat, so even if Tony pushes it away he'll go over there and force him to eat it.

Which is weird. I know. Not many people get the chance to force feed Tony Stark.

Peter though picks up his own plate and sees a disgusting blob of oddity staring back at him.

This was suicide. Did they actually expect him to eat this? Well, he had to stay alive… and staying alive meant eating.

And water. Which he had not had in a day.

Now that he thought about it, his throat was crying in dryness, it was not a nice feeling. The human body could only survive three days without water, just going one day without water and eating dry food at that would just make it even worse.

What were they even trying to do?

Looks like he'll find out whether he likes it or not.

He looks over to Tony, who was attempting to eat even though it looked like he was about to throw up. I guess Peter would have to try too and while he attempts to eat as well… he thinks since Tony Stark, the genius of the two didn't have a plan to escape, that it was up to Peter to haul the load for the two and take responsibility.

Wouldn't his uncle be proud?

Peter's only awake because Tony is kicking around in the cell. He's thrashing around, mumbling a series of no's in his sleep, and it is then that Peter realizes he's probably having a nightmare.

He breaks the boundaries between the two corners and stumbles to Tony's side. When he makes his way to his knees he shakes Tony, and Tony shoots up into the air.

"You were having a nightmare."

Peter watches Tony wheezing heavily and he awkwardly looks around. He's not really good with these things.

"Thanks."

That's new. He never thought Tony would ever say thank you to some lame kid on the streets.

"You're welcome."

"How's school?" Tony asks after greedily drinking the bottle of water that was tossed to him earlier that day. One bottle of water still wasn't enough.

"I guess it okay." Peter said with a weary voice, his injuries are starting to heal and he can barely feel his sprained ankle anymore. Healing factor: 1 Peter Parker: 0. He really likes his powers now.

They're freaking awesome.

"You like any of your subjects?" Tony asks.

"Yeah." Peter answers. "Science."

And his girlfriend. But she's not a subject in school to learn about.

"Oh? A science geek? You going to college?"

Peter wonders about that. He's reminded of the intern position Harry's dad gave him before he turned into a maniac and he just shrugs.

"I dunno'. I guess."

Tony says nothing.

"The formula!" Steward hisses, his guard holding tightly onto Peter's wrist, and Peter keeps in a muffle of pain as he nearly breaks his wrist. "WHAT IS IT!?"

"I'll never tell you."

He got a slap in return.

"I'm Dr. Fin." He hears the man say, and he nods. So this was the man who treated Tony's injuries earlier that week? Cool. At least there's someone taking care of him.

"Looks like you've got a cracked wrist and a few bruised ribs, you're going to have to rest for a while."

Tell that to his captors.

"And is this... a... knife wound? Are you having suicidal thoughts Mr. Parker?"

Hah. He wishes.

When Tony comes back this time, he has a black eye, and it's a pretty nasty one at that. He's shoved towards the ground, and the guards that were holding him earlier leave without warning, leaving Tony to struggle getting up by himself only to stumble to his corner.

He looks horrible.

Peter probably looks horrible too.

"You okay man?"

He hears a grunt. Tony is saying he's okay, but he's not. Peter knows this.

"You don't look so good."

"You know, you never told me your last name." Tony struggles to say, it's a subject change and Peter will play along for now.

"Oh. Yeah. Last names aren't that interesting are they?"

Tony leans against the wall again.

"Well, they are to me. C'mon. Tell me. I won't laugh if it's something that sounds completely weird and foreign."

Peter hesitates.

"Parker."

Peter can see Tony's eyes widen, and then he can hear the gears clicking in Tony's head. Everything was setting into place.

"Are you related to the Parkers? Genius scientists?"

What.

"Uh yes...? "

"I knew your parents."

I guess we learn something new each day.

Thanks for reading so far guys. Reviews are my fuel for writing, and also whether you like it or not I'm continuing this. xD

By the way, I own nothing, in case you haven't noticed... and grammar and spelling mistakes are nootttt on purpose! I swear! See any mistakes? Point it out! I gotta' fix them before I embarrass myself to bits!

I don't know how long this fanfiction is going to be, but I planning to put a lot of time into it.