Spider-Man: Unmasked

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Man, Peter was bored.  There was nothing to do in a dark, boring, frankly a bit scary cell.  He had lost track of how long he had been there.  Days?  Weeks?  Hours?  He had no clue.

He wanted to be at home, working on something in the lab with his dad. Instead, he was stuck there, kidnapped by something his dad had made in a lab. Yeah, it kind of sucks.

Peter had 'entertained' himself by watching robots fly around and shouting at them, but that had gotten old real quick.

"I'm hungry," he whined quietly as a robot passed. The robot just ignored him and flew off. Peter groaned and laid down on one of the boxes with his arm draped over his forehead in a dramatic pose.

He had been fed - barely. Nothing filling. The food sucked anyway.  Mostly just scraps.  Who's scraps?  He has no clue.

Whether it was because he was distraught, hungry, tired, bored, or all of the above, tears spilled down his cheeks. What he felt most was guilt.

His dads must have been taking this terribly. Especially Tony. While he was sure his Pops was extremely upset, his Dad had been the one who saw them all die, so he was the one Peter was worried most about.

Ultron passed by, as he sometimes did. "What are you going to do with me?" Peter asked through gritted teeth. "Why do you have me here?"

"The answer should be obvious, really. Do you really think I'm going to hurt you?"

"Um, yes?" Peter looked at him quizzically. "Why would I be here if you weren't?"

Ultron just shook his head before looking up sharply and walking off, leaving Peter confused.  He just slumped against another box and looked at the ceiling.

"Yeah, thanks for the answers, guy. Really means a lot."

Everything still hurt.  None of his injuries from fighting Ultron earlier had been treated properly. They had healed for the most part, but the risk of them healing wrong wasn't low.

He was wallowing in his own self-pity and didn't notice for a long while that he was alone. Completely alone.  The robots and even Ultron were gone. He stood up, though a bit too quickly, causing him to stumble. He grabbed onto the bars and began pulling, not wanting to waste another minute in this wretched cell. Of course, nothing happened. He continued to pull and hit and push, but to no avail.

Okay, he thought, lacing his arm through the bars to try and find the lock. Time for Plan B. He knew that Ultron had vibranium, so he prayed the lock wasn't made out of it. If that were the case, he'd never get out of there.

When he finally got his grip on the lock, he squeezed it as hard as he could and broke it. He let out a yell of excitement as the door swung open, not even thinking about how that might have alerted someone.

At least until he heard footsteps coming from close by. He stood up straighter and walked over to where his suit was supposed to be. If he could just get to it, then he could defend himself from whoever was about to enter.

"Hello?" He asked hesitantly. He was almost afraid. Who was it? Ultron? One of the Maximoff twins? What happened to those two anyway? Peter hadn't seen them since Korea.

It was none of them.

Now, standing in front of him, was Steve Rogers.

"Pops!" Peter exclaimed. "You're here! You're actually here! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

Steve dropped his shield, looking relieved.  "I'm just happy you're okay, Pete. Let's get you out of here."

Immediately, Peter rushed into his Pops's arms, tears falling down his cheeks. Steve automatically wrapped his arms around Peter, holding him close and tight.

"Oh Pete," Steve said quietly. "You've gotta stop doing this to us, there's only so much that your dad and I can take." He pulled away and looked at Peter and what he was wearing. "Nice outfit, by the way."

Peter looked around. "Where is he?" He asked, slightly worried. "Where's Dad?"

"Easy Peter, easy. He's up in the city, evacuating citizens and finding Ultron."

Peter nodded and took deep breaths. He looked a bit pathetic. He hadn't eaten well as stated before and was bruised from the fight in Korea. While his healing had fixed most of his injuries by now, there were still stray bumps and bruises.

"How long have I been here?" Peter asked, rushing back to the table that held his suit. He picked it up and held it close, relieved to see it all in one piece.

"A few days. And you've missed a whole lot." Steve was putting the shield back on his back.

"Well that's comforting," Peter mumbled. He looked around. "What's happening now? Where are we? What's the mission?" He made sure everything was still there in his suit. Surprisingly, yes.

"We're in Sokovia. Ultron's here, and he's going to do something. Something big. We're not exactly sure yet. Now, I'm going to take you to safety." He took a few steps before stopping and looking back at Peter. "You still might want to put on the suit."

Peter nodded and went to a place to change, his dad waiting for him. For once, he was happy to be 'taken to safety.'  He was fine for the next few days... or weeks.

He threw the clothes that he had been wearing before back into the cell before quickly following his Pops.

"Oh yeah, just to get you caught up..." Steve looked at Peter as they walked. "The Maximoff Twins are on our side now."

Peter looked at Steve, eyes widened. "Woah, what? The witch is on our team?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah. She and her brother saw what Ultron had in mind and switched." He hesitated before continuing. "Also, your Dad put Jarvis into the body that was inside The Cradle."

Peter stopped immediately, nearly tripping. "What?! Another one?"

Steve nodded with a sigh. "Yep." He looked back at the dark, dirt path ahead of them as they continued to walk. "This one is good, I think. It lifted Mjolnir."

Peter was trying to process everything. "Okay..." Yeah, it was going to take a while to figure everything out. You get kidnapped by a robot for a few days and the world goes nuts.

He squinted as they stepped outside, having not seen sunlight for a few days. He looked at the city in front of him and immediately saw robots flying around.

"Yeah, that can't be good."  Peter took a deep breath and looked at Steve, who looked back down at Peter.

"Tony's gonna kill me," Steve muttered.  "Pete, we're gonna need your help.  I don't know if we can get all these things and get everyone to safety with just us.  That is if you are up for it...?"

Peter looked at Sokovia and sighed softly.  So much for going back to safety.

My arms are sore, he whined in his head.  I want to sleep in my own bed. Instead of explaining all of this, he looked back at Steve and nodded.

"Yeah.  Let's go get this guy.  Once and for all."