Caught In A Web

Chapter Seven - Running From Here

And why would I think you would ever be mine?

You never gave me a sign

And now you're the one that I'm leavin' behind

Runnin' from something that's bigger than I

-"Running From Here," Witt Lowry

- - -

As his hands shook, as he fought himself, Peter remembered when Tony saved his life, the day he decided to bring Peter in as an Avenger.

Peter had been fighting the Scorpion. Well, Spider-Man had been. He had gotten so close so many times, and this time he wasn't going to let the criminal get away.

They were in an empty parking lot in the fringes of NYC. The Scorpion had been meeting someone there and had shown up in all of his glory: full green plated suit, helmet with red eyes, long scorpion tail that had given him his name. Peter had gotten there first, and if the person Scorpion was meeting showed up, they had the sense to stay away from the fight that went down there.

They fought hard and Scorpion managed to sting Peter before Peter webbed down his stinger. Whatever poison was in the stinger was potent, and Peter was unresponsive when Tony found him.

He had been lying in the middle of the parking lot, unconscious, suit still on, with a webbed up Scorpion beside him. He was sick for days after Tony rushed him to Banner's lab, but he lived and Tony made him an Avenger as soon as he could stand up again.

He had saved Tony's life, too. Mr. Stark had a habit of flying around in the city while fighting people, and buildings often became an issue with that. Usually, he just crushed the side of the building or fell through the top, but this time he was fighting HYDRA agents and they collapsed a tall building on top of him. Tons and tons of concrete pinning him down, blasters damaged, nobody could blast in for fear of killing him.

Peter had lifted up the concrete. Just him, no help. Nobody else could make it budge, Thor and Bruce were unavailable, so he just went for it.

He found Tony with a few broken bones but otherwise okay. Any longer, or any shift in the concrete, could have crushed him to death. But he was okay.

That's what they did. They saved each others' lives. He may be a mutant, but he was a mutant who helped people.

He wanted to see Tony and his parents, but now was not his time.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark," he whispered, and pulled the knife up and towards him.

-

"NO!" Tony cried, pounding the glass with his whole body.

But Peter didn't collapse to the ground. There was no spurt of blood or coughing, dying sounds. 

Instead, he saw Peter's shock collar slide down his back to the ground. Nothing but a thin, shallow cut to the neck from a slightly misjudged slice. And then Peter dropped the knife, darted to his feet, and started climbing the wall.

Up and up he went, then to the ceiling. He tore away a vent grate, and by the time guards started streaming into the room he was already gone.

Tony smiled. He was safe. Safer.

Good job, kid.

-

Peter didn't know what he was doing, but he knew that he didn't have much time before someone tried to get him out of the vents. 

He had to try to escape.

He shuffled as quietly as he could through the maze of air vents. He had become so light that that part wasn't hard. The hard part would be finding the exit.

As he was shuffling over hallways, he heard running guards. He tried to concentrate on his spidey sense to lead him, and he noticed that there was one spot that didn't radiate danger.

He heard the voice, and he realized who it had to be.

"Hey, would anyone mind telling me what's going on? You guys are in a bit of a rush today!"

Peter crawled over the grate nearest the voice and found that he was right.

Inside the room was a one-armed man with long, brown hair and the name James Buchanan Barnes.

Peter glanced over the rest of the room and then dropped in, wincing at the loud noise the grate made as it broke.

Bucky jumped, looked confused, and then shocked as he realized who it was in front of him.

"Peter? Oh god, what happened to you? You look awful."

Peter avoided his eyes, but glanced Bucky over to see the condition he was in. His robotic arm had been removed and his other wrist was handcuffed to the wall. He looked thinner but otherwise unharmed.

"Hi, Mr. Bucky," Peter replied hoarsely. He coughed. "Time to get you out."

He was weak, but desperation was a good motivator. Peter managed to break the chain of the handcuffs and then tried to judge if Bucky would fit in the vents. No.

"How are you," he asked as he tried to figure out what to do.

"They've treated me fine, besides the brainwashing that once, and the arm. Food sucks, but they fed me. Christ, it's my fault that you're here. I- I'm sorry, Pete."

Peter kept his eyes fixed on the ground. He made no response. After a moment of thought, he broke the lock on the door.

"I need you to get out. Pretend to be brainwashed, something. You should know the way out, since you got in."

"Peter, what about you?"

"Please, Mr. Bucky. I'll be right above you."

He climbed the wall and slipped back into the vent.

-

Bucky decided to go. He knew that the exit wasn't far, so he put on the murder walk and stared ahead blankly, hoping to trick the guards. 

He got close. The stairs were right there, and the guards were distracted, but he bumped into someone who knew he wasn't supposed to be out.

He didn't know it, but this was Cuffy, Peter's least favorite guard. He stepped in front of Bucky and shoved him backwards.

"What are you doing out? Stryker didn't order anything to be done to you."

And Bucky didn't think fast enough.

-

Peter knew what was about to happen, and he made a choice. Bucky had the best chance of getting out, and Steve needed him. 

So he dropped out of the vent and kicked Cuffy in the head. The big man slumped to the ground.

"Discretion is no longer an option," Bucky said after staring for a second in amazement at the strength of this broken kid. "Come on, Peter. We need to run!"

Bucky and Peter sprinted towards the exit, guards right behind them. And Bucky was out before he realized that Peter wasn't behind him anymore.

Glancing back, he saw the boy being pulled back by a group of guards. He had gone limp in their arms.

And Peter was looking straight at him. He saw the boy mouth one word to him.

'Run.'