Peter Parker... Stark?

I'm Sorry

The team sat in stunned silence as Bucky pushed the Quinjet to its limit, trying to get back to the Tower as fast as possible. Suddenly, Friday spoke up.

"Boss, there's been an unscheduled arrival at Stark Tower, sir."

"What do you mean, unscheduled arrival?" Tony asked, knowing that whoever had the nerve to show up unannounced better have a good reason to be there. "Who is it?"

"As far as I can tell, boss, Thor and Bruce Banner are now exploring the kitchen area."

The entire team in the jet froze. Natasha frowned and stared at the ground as Tony and Steve met each others' eyes in shock.

"Wait, Friday, tell Bruce to get to the med bay right now!" Tony said as the Quinjet started its landing sequence. "We need his help."

The moment the ramp lowered, Cap rushed out with Peter in his arms, trying to find the right balance between getting Peter to the med bay faster or ensuring he wasn't making the injuries worse by jostling the boy around.

As Cap rushed to where Bruce was waiting, Thor stepped out with a smile on his face.

"Greetings, Captain! Banner and I have--"

"Not now, Thor!" Cap said, pushing past him. The god looked on in confusion, his eyes soon reflecting worry as he realized the condition of the teen in Cap's arms.

The med bay door slammed open and Cap hurriedly situated Peter on the closest bed. Bruce wasted no time asking questions, other than to clarify what had happened.

"The bullet is still in his leg. I got Friday to contact Helen Cho, and she said she's on her way." Bruce ushered Cap and Ironman (who had been following close on his heels the whole time) out of the room so that he could help Peter. The door closed in their faces, and as Cap turned to walk away he realized that Tony was standing and staring numbly at the door.

"Tony, you can't help him by being in there."

"I... I know."

"Let's go sit somewhere else."

When they entered the living space, Helen Cho rushed into the room with Pepper close behind. The two women wasted no time in getting to where they needed to go.

"Hey, what's going on?" Pepper asked, crouching in front of Tony as he continued to blankly stare at the ground.

"Peter... it's... he's..."

"Peter Parker is Spider-Man," Natasha said, "and he's in the med bay right now. We..." She paused and cleared her throat. "We don't know what's going to happen to him."

"What?" Pepper gasped. "Peter... he--"

"We know about as much as you do," Steve said. Tears welled in Pepper's eyes as she sat beside Tony.

"What happened?" she breathed. The team shifted awkwardly until Cap finally spoke up and told her everything that had happened in the Hydra warehouse.

"At least you rescued those poor children," Pepper said quietly.

"Well, technically Peter did all the work," Natasha said. "We just took them home after he finished doing the hard part."

The conversation lulled to a stop as everyone sat silently. Suddenly, Thor spoke up from the doorway, startling nearly everyone there.

"This Man of Spiders seems very brave, and he must be strong to have beaten you in a fight!"

"Well," Sam objected, rubbing the back of his neck, "he didn't really beat us, exactly, we just..." He stopped as both Natasha and Tony stared daggers at him.