Something More

Chapter 12

Peter didn't remember much of what happened. Just that he was firing a gun before he felt a sharp pain stabbing him in the back before passing out. He woke up to a white room and looked around.

There was a man and a woman in front of him. The woman was pretty. She had brown hair and was dressed in a soldier's outfit. The man looked a lot like his daddy. Only, he was different and not quite like him at the same time. "Who are you?"

"My name is Peggy Carter." (This entire story takes place after Civil War, so Peggy would have already passed on by then.)

"And I'm Howard Stark."

"Hey! You have the same last name as daddy's!" They chuckled.

"That's because I'm his father."

"Woah! Does that mean you're my grandfather?"

"I guess it does."

"We've been watching over you, Peter. You've saved both Tony and Steve from themselves. I've never seen Steve more happier since the 1940s. You need them and they need you." Peggy said.

"And Tell Tony that I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for not being there for him when I should have. He turned out to be a good man just fine on his own. Tell him that I'm proud of him." Howard said. Peter was confused as to why he was sorry, but didn't press. "Now that I think about it, you do look a lot like Tony when he was very young. You've even got the hair and the looks down."

"Daddy talks a lot about you to uncle Rhodey and aunt Pepper. He says that he wished that he had more time to say goodbye to you (I know that in the comics and what was mentioned in every Iron Man or Avengers movie, Tony didn't like Howard and all, but this will be a bit different). He says that he wished that you and him didn't argue a lot."

"Really?" Peter nodded.

"Do you see the light?" She asked as Peter nodded, his eyes staring at the mesmerizing beam of light beside them. It was as if it were beckoning him to come closer and touch it. "Yeah. It's really pretty."

"Your time isn't here yet. You have so much to live for. You've got your whole life ahead of you. And your daddies love you so much. So do your aunt and uncles."

"I know. But the light looks so pretty. It's calling me over. What's on the other side?"

"It's a world where people go to when their time is done in this world."

"Can I go to it? I promise I'll visit my daddies, my uncles and aunts and tell them all about it when I get back."

"I'm sorry, Peter. I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. Once you step into the light, there's no coming back."

"No coming back? Does that mean that I can't see my daddies again? I don't wanna leave them!"

"You're a good boy. Your time is running out. Tell Steve that he still owes me that dance." Peggy says as Peter looks at her confused. "He'll understand."

"How do I get out?"

"You have to imagine your dad and you'll return home."

"Wait. Will I ever see you again?"

"Not for a very long time, Peter. Remember, we'll always be watching over you."

"Will you visit me?"

"Of course."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Peter closed his eyes and thought of Tony and his family.

"WE'VE GOT A HEARTBEAT!"

"Welcome back to the land of the living, kiddo." Helen Cho said as she saw the monitor produce steady heartbeats.

She walked out of the operating theatre to see a group of distraught avengers. Once the door opened, all of them leaped up onto their feet anxiously. "How is he?" Tony asked.

"He'll be fine. The surgery was a success."

"Can we see him?"

"Not yet. We need to put him in a quarantined room. We have no idea what Hydra did to him." She said and they nodded sadly in understanding.

"Peter!" He could hear his name being called out. He groaned as he opened his eyes. "Wha-?" Peter looked around him to see his entire family sitting or standing beside him.

"Hey, bud. How ya feeling?" Steve asked as he combed a hand through his son's hair. "Tired. How long have I been out?"

"Three days. The doctor said that it was a miracle that you survived. I'm sorry." Tony said as started to tear up, barely being able to make eye contact with Peter at this point.

"Don't be, dad. You didn't know. No one did. You, pops and the rest have done so much for me. Mostly the both of you. Even in the past."

"What do you mean, Pete?"

"Dad, pops, I met Howard and Peggy."

"What?"

"Grandpa told me to tell you that he was sorry for everything. That he wa sorry that wasn't there for you when he should have been. He said that he was really proud of you." Tony, was outright crying. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the incoming tears.

"And aunt Peggy said that you still owed her that last dance." Steve nodded, tears also streaming down his cheeks as he didn't even bother hiding it. Whatever happened, they knew that everything would be alright.

That night, Peter slept in his bed for the first time in three months. He felt safe, but that didn't stop his nightmares from plaguing his dreams. Once again, he was back to being strapped to that cold metal table, a few scientists approaching him with syringes filled with strange liquids and a tray of knives. He screamed. And he remembered that no one had heard him. The scientists only seem to cackle behind their masks, and Peter could have sworn he saw the glints in their eyes behind their goggles.

He remembered the pain when they sliced through flesh. The hot pain that seared up his arm like electricity that arced through his entire being. He was being gagged with a dirty cloth, tasting the disgusting muck of whatever stained it.

He screamed.

"PETER!" Peter bolted up in bed, drenched in sweat. The sheets that bunched up in fists were twisted as he attempted to calm his breathing. His fathers held him in their warm embrace. Peter clutched onto their shirts.

"H-Help me."