Peter Parker... Stark?

Rubik's Cube

Peter couldn't see clearly through the tears, but he knew exactly where he was. He knew exactly who was holding him so tightly it was almost hard to breathe.

What he didn't know was why his head hurt so much, or how he'd gotten home in the first place.

Had the torture been some sort of convoluted nightmare? Had he been drugged on patrol again?

Peter opened his mouth, the simple movement exhausting. "Dad?" he asked again. It was all he could manage to choke out. It was like his body wasn't his own, and with a brutal migraine quickly building, Peter was just struggling to stay present.

"It's me, Peter," Tony said, then pulled away from the teen with a concerned look on his face. "How are you feeling?"

Peter only had the energy to weakly shake his head, his eyelids threatening to close at any second. He vaguely became aware that Bruce was at his side, checking on an IV in his arm and making sure that he was still getting a steady flow of oxygen.

"Peter?" Bruce asked, shining a light in the teen's eyes. Peter blinked heavily. He could feel himself slipping away again, and he knew Bruce could tell. "Peter, you gotta stay awake, buddy."

"What's wrong?" Tony asked. Peter couldn't even muster up a frown as he tried to piece together their conversation. Their voices were getting more garbled with every word until it sounded like they were both talking underwater.

Another person stepped forward, but Peter didn't recognize him. He and Tony exchanged a few sharp words, but by that point Peter just couldn't do it anymore.

The last thing he saw before his eyes finally closed was the strange man reaching for his forehead.

~~~

"What happened?" Tony demanded, stepping threateningly into Loki's personal space.

"He is fine, but I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do," Loki said, pulling away from Peter. "His mind is active again, but something else is interfering with my magic."

"Probably the nanites," Bruce said, rubbing his chin.

"Nanites?" Loki asked, tilting his head.

"Technology I doubt you understand, so unless you can magically pry the answer out of the people who did this to my son, you can leave," Tony spat.

Loki didn't move an inch, merely raising an eyebrow at Stark and glancing at Bruce, who carefully put a hand on Tony's shoulder and gently pulled him away from the god.

"He, um," Bruce said quietly, looking from Tony to Loki, "he actually can do that."

"Do what?" Tony said. "Leave?"

"How did you put it? 'Magically pry' information from people?" Loki asked with a smirk. He bowed slightly, flourishing his hands. "I can do that."

Tony stared at the god for a long minute, several conflicting emotions warring in his expression. Finally, he stepped aside. "Fine. Bruce, let Fury know we're on our way."

Bruce nodded and stepped out of the room. The moment the door closed, Tony was right back in Loki's face.

"Why are you helping us?" he said quietly, his voice low with suspicion.

"Do all Midguardians need a reason for acts of benevolence?"

"I don't know what game you're playing," Tony snapped, jabbing his finger hard into Loki's chest, "but I'm only going to tell you this one time. You make one wrong move, give me one reason to think my family is in danger, and I will not hesitate to send you back to your brother in pieces."