Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What about Falcon or Black Widow?” Peter asked. “Won’t they be looking for you?”

Steve shook his head. “They won’t know where to look. We were on the way back from Wakanda when we were captured, and we were supposed to be off the grid for about a week after that. I don’t know if they even know we’re gone.”

“‘Let’s celebrate, Bucky.’” Bucky mocked, his eyes closed and his head back against the wall. “‘You need to see more of the world, Bucky. Your goats will be fine for a week, Bucky. We won’t be gone for long. Loosen up, Bucky.’” Bucky opened his eyes and glared at Steve. “See, this is why I have trust issues.”

“I didn’t plan this,” Steve protested, looking wounded.

“I could be on a farm in Wakanda right now,” Bucky replied with a grumpy scowl.

“Wait, you have goats?” Peter demanded.

Bucky nodded, his face softening as he thought of the animals. “They’re all assholes.”

“He named one after me,” Steve said, his face a little smug.

“You mean Pre-Serum Steve? He rammed head-first into a fence post and tried to fight the cow, who else would I name him after?”

Steve’s face fell again and Peter stifled a chuckle.

Peter was about to ask about the rest of the goat’s names when his enhanced hearing picked up the sound of footsteps outside the door. Steve and Bucky stiffened a moment later as they caught the noise as well.

The trio slowly got to their feet, staring intently at the door. Peter couldn’t suppress a slight flinch when it swung open and the woman strode inside.

Her hair was back in perfect place, but she was wearing black kevlar and military wear rather than her business clothes. Her makeup and poker face were both impeccable. 

Four henchmen types followed her into the room.

“Congratulations, Winter Soldier,” the woman said dryly. “You have thoroughly stumped my supposedly world class scientists.” 

“Don’t suppose that means that we can go?” Bucky asked optimistically. 

The woman smirked. “It means that they get to test you until they can give me a better answer than ‘I don’t know’.” She tilted her head towards Peter and he didn’t think he imagined the glint that came into her eyes. “In the meantime, I have more time to devote to other projects.”

Bucky and Steve both not-so-subtly shifted in front of Peter and the woman smirked. Peter was trying to not hide behind the two super-soldiers, but he couldn’t deny the wriggling snakes of fear that were currently in residence in his stomach. He didn’t have any experience with being held captive, and he had been hoping to keep torture off his resume at least until after he could legally drink.

The woman pulled the silver remote from her pocket and her smile grew when her prisoners flinched. “I’m sure you’re all tired of being electrocuted, so I would suggest behaving.” She tapped a red nail against her chin thoughtfully. “I think this time I’ll just let the Spider take the punishment if you try anything. I wonder how much his abilities can heal before his body gives out?”

“Uh, how about we don’t test that?” Peter’s voice cracked traitorously. “I’ve heard terrible things about barbequed spider.”

The woman managed to roll her eyes in a dignified manner at Peter’s attempt at a quip. She flicked her fingers at the guards and they approached the cell. One of the guards unlocked the door while the other three stood at the ready with most likely un-fun electrified batons. The guard with the keys shoved them into some unknown pocket and motioned for Bucky to move.

Peter grabbed onto Bucky’s arm to keep him from leaving. Sure, getting electrocuted sucked, but watching Bucky walk willingly back into the hands of the organization that had turned him into the Winter Soldier was somehow worse.

Steve was as tense as a tap dancer in a minefield. He made an aborted movement to grab Peter back, but the threatening raise of the batons stopped him.

“Let go, kid,” Bucky muttered. “I’ll be fine.”

Peter’s breath was leaving his lungs in wispy huffs, and his fingers seemed to be out of his control. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he knew he couldn’t let go.

“Kid,” Bucky repeated, more urgently.

The woman gave an exasperated sigh. “Enough dramatics.” She clicked the remote and Peter fell down screaming.

Steve dropped down beside Peter and he could distantly hear him calling his name. The shocks were even worse this time around. His spine arched and his hand slammed against the ground uncontrollably. A zap sizzled through his jaw and it first tingled then went worryingly numb. He could taste blood. His lips were parted in a silent scream but his chest couldn’t move any of the air out.

“Turn it off!” Bucky roared.

Peter couldn’t turn to look, but he heard the crashes and grunts of a fight. Beside him, Steve stood and leapt into the fray. 

A moment later, Steve and Bucky crashed to the ground as well, doing their best to muffle their own screams.

“Grab the Winter Soldier,” the woman said in disgust. “I’ll take care of the spider later.”

There was the sound of shuffling and then the room’s heavy door slammed shut. The shock collar finally turned off, and Peter was left trying to remember how to breathe. The collar was choking him, or maybe it hadn’t turned off because Peter couldn’t fucking breathe. He clawed at his neck with numb, twitching fingers and desperately tried to unlock his rictus closed jaw to let in a gasp.

“Kid, hey,” Steve was suddenly at Peter’s side. He had a new cut on his cheekbone and he was out of breath, but he looked none the worse for his impromptu electro-therapy. 

Peter tried to croak something out, probably a beg for help, but his throat was closing up. It felt like one of the asthma attacks he had as a kid. He hadn’t had one since the spider bite. He had forgotten how much it felt like dying.

Steve used one hand to catch Peter’s hands away from his neck and the other to raise his head slightly off the ground. “Shh, it’ll be ok, kid. Just calm down and try to breathe.” 

Peter focused on the calm sound of Steve’s voice and felt some of his panic soothe. If Captain America said it would be ok, it would be. He managed a small breath through his nose and felt his throat loosen.

“That’s it,” Steve encouraged. “Just breathe.”

Peter managed a few more half-breaths before he convinced his jaw to unclench. “‘M sorry,” he wheezed. “Made t-things… worse.”

“Don’t start,” Steve warned. “None of this is your fault. You’re still a kid. It’s mine and Bucky’s job to look out for you right now.”

Peter was well versed in the art of angst, and he wasn’t thrown off so easily. “But I'm Spiderman.”

“And I’m Captain America,” Steve countered. He smirked slightly. “I’ve been told that’s a big deal.”

Peter’s lips quirked in a smile before a fresh convulsion sent him into a full body shudder.

Steve’s smirk dropped with a sigh. “Look, kid, Bucky and I are gonna do our best to keep you as safe as possible. You gotta let us do that.”

Peter considered the general agonies that were plaguing his body and decided that having adults in charge sounded nice. He raised his still mostly numb hand to his forehead in the sloppiest salute imaginable. “Aye aye, Captain,” he mumbled.

Steve chuckled and reached over to tuck the mildly blood-stained jacket under Peter’s head. “At ease, soldier.”

Peter’s eyes were falling closed seemingly of their own volition, and he finally stopped fighting it. All he could hope for was for his healing factor to kick in even with the little food. His battered body needed the help. 

The moment he got out of this Hydra mess, he was going to ask Mr. Stark to get burgers. Mr. Stark never said no to burgers, especially if Peter was asking. Just throw in some puppy dog eyes….

Peter was asleep again before he could finish the thought.

****

Tony’s armor landed on the concrete ground with a solid thud. 

The satellite image had lead him to a veritable concrete jungle of empty warehouses. Which, seriously, cliche much? Was it too much to expect villains to have some damn class? Even if it was a painfully boring hiding place, it still left Tony with a lot of buildings to comb through.

“FRIDAY, scan for heat signatures.”

“On it, boss.”

Tony slowly set out down a road between the eerily still buildings. His boots clanked with every heavy step.

“I’m getting something from the building to your right,” FRIDAY informed him, lighting up his screen with the fuzzy heat signature that made it through the warehouse walls.

Tony turned and made his clanking way over to the building. He paused outside of the closed door and warily eyed the heat signature that had yet to move.

“Hey, Fri, remind me to send the building’s owner a check.” With that, he raised a gauntleted hand and fired a repulsor beam. The door flew off its hinges and Tony rocketed through the newly open space. He landed in an open area– his boots sliding slightly on the floor– and turned to scan the area, his hands up with repulsors ready to fire.

He was met with silence. The entire warehouse was bathed in shadows, and the heat signature had disappeared from his screen. 

“FRIDAY, where’d he go?”

Something dropped onto the outside of his armor and Tony had barely twisted to see what it was before an electric pulse ran through his suit and darkened his screens.

“You should look up more,” A growly voice appeared in tandem with the sound of a heavy body dropping to the ground.

Tony growled in frustration and watched the rebooting sign spin on his screen.

“What does the great Tony Stark want with me?” Kraven asked, circling Tony’s defenseless suit. In the darkness, he was but a looming shadow.

“Call it a business visit,” Tony snarked. The reboot was at 20%. “I want to know what you did with Spider-man.”

“The Spider? That was a simple contract job.” The shadow paused in front of Tony’s view. “I didn’t realize he had such important friends.”

“Is he alive?” Tony demanded, suddenly desperate. The reboot was at 40%.

“Maybe. I didn’t ask what my client had planned.”

“Who is your client?”

“Nuh-uh-uh,” Kraven tutted sinisterly. “Giving out information like that would be bad for business.” Something glinted in the faint moonlight that was spilling through the shattered door. “I also can’t have you chasing me.”

Tony gritted his teeth. 70%.

“I’ve always wanted to test my blades against that armor of yours,” Kraven said thoughtfully. The knife glinted again as he lifted it in the air.

83%. There wasn’t enough time.

“Goodbye Stark.”

The ceiling above them fell in a massive crash and a human form landed with the rubble. The War Machine armor faintly whirred as Rhodey moved into a defensive pose in the midst of the wreckage.

Kraven leapt at Rhodey with a roar and the two began grappling. Rhodey was forced to dodge a seemingly endless supply of knives and yet was unable to use his own guns on Kraven. They needed him alive if they were to get any information.

“You couldn’t have waited an extra five minutes for me?” Rhodey shouted at Tony, irritated.

“You’re here now, aren’t you?” Tony retorted. The reboot bar inched the final way to the finish line and Tony’s suit whirred to life about him. 

Kraven whirled around to meet Tony and was met with a fully charged repulsor aimed directly at his head.

“Let’s try this again. Where is Spider-man?”