A Family of Flaws

Chapter Twenty-Three; The Cruel World

*Peter's POV*

  It took a week for Peter to receive the information about the internship, but he waited patiently, his excitement growing by the day. And it was worth it when the e-mail popped into one of the many messages that he receives in a day.

  He clicked on the e-mail and pulled up the information, reading through it thoroughly. He was supposed to come in every Monday from five to nine for the first month in the lower intern labs. If he proved to be trustworthy then he would be moved to a higher lab and his schedule might go from one day a week to two days a week.

  That wasn't even everything! Mr. Stark's personal driver would pick Peter up to bring him to Avengers Tower! Peter fell on his bed with a happy smile, realizing that he was actually going to be an intern at Stark Industries. How cool was that?

Unfortunately, it was Tuesday, which meant it would almost be another whole week before his first day as an intern. But he could be patient, this was definitely worth the wait.

And then there was a shrill scream in the distance that broke Peter out of his wistful thoughts, he sat up and pulled on his suit quickly before pushing open his window and swinging in the direction of the scream.

  Peter swung into an alleyway where he was met with the sight a young women with two small children cowering behind her, one crying while the other shook violently. The women looked like she was trying to appear confident, but there was a shake in her arm and a tremble in her voice as she spoke to the two men who were standing in front of her, one armed with a knife. "J-Just... leave us alone." She commanded in a light voice, taking a small step back while she tried to completely cover the two kids behind her. "Please— we do-don't have anything..."

  The man with the knife took a cocky step forward, giving a dark chuckle as he raised the knife against her throat. The little girl that was crying let out a sob, clutching onto the woman's leg and burying her face in the fabric of her pants. The other child stepped forward with a shout, rushing forward with raised fists, swinging at the armed man. The man pushed the young boy away roughly, he hit the wall of the building next to them with a cough, crumbling to the ground with tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

  The woman let out a panicked shout, reaching forward to help the boy, but the man with the knife pushed the knife against her throat with a threatening glint in his eyes. Peter jumped off the roof that he had been sitting on and shot a web at the building, using it to kick the armed man into the wall that he had pushed the boy into. The other thug shouted out in surprise, stumbling away while his companion fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.

  Peter sent a few webs off, making sure he couldn't run away if he woke up, and turned towards the other man. He pulled out a knife from a pocket in his jacket and shakily raised it towards Peter, his hands trembled softly as he let out a pitiful sound that was supposed to be intimidating.

  Peter rushed forward, kicking the man's legs out from under him and swiftly grabbing the knife out of his hands, tossing it to the side before he webbed him to the ground. It all happened in one fluid movement, and he let out a relieved sigh as he turned to check on the unharmed woman and the two children.

  But he lurched forward in a panic as he saw the young boy struggling to sit up, with his super hearing he could hear the raspy way he was breathing, a small wheeze catching at the back of his throat. The woman turned to check on the little girl behind her, completely oblivious to the bad shape the boy was in.

  Peter fell to his knees and quickly helped the boy lay on his side to keep him from choking on anything that might be in his throat, he leaned up against his chest and listened as closely as he could. It sounded like there was something wet in his lungs, making his breathing difficult. One of his ribs might have cracked and hurt one of his lungs, letting some fluid leak into it.