Chapter Text
“The city is taking on heavy fire and is in need of assistance boss!” FRIDAY’s Irish accented voice came over the intercom, interrupting the light mood in the communal living area of the Compound. Even with her dire message, her voice always sounded chipper. The Avengers had spent the weekend training and working on weapons upgrades. Thor had even come from Asgard to train. They had finished with all of the different modules Steve had set up for the weekend. They were relaxing and chatting with each other before everyone who didn’t live in the Compound headed home. Everyone’s heads whipped around to look at the wall-to-wall television screens that were being switched to a horrific scene of destruction in downtown Manhattan.
“Are those Chitauri?” Steve questioned, in disbelief and horror, as he took in the scenes being played out over the screens. The monstrous looking creatures were all over the city. They had cornered defenseless citizens with their staffs and were screeching at them. Another screen showed them advancing on a building, while they fired into the broken windows, causing fire to erupt from within. Every screen showed destruction or violence from the Chitauri.
Peter shuddered, remembering the first time that the Chitauri had been in New York City. He had been only eight years old, but he remembered May and Ben letting him sleep with them after he had nightmares about it. Bucky had still been the soldier when the Chitauri attacked last time, so he was witnessing their destruction for the first time.
Clint, Tony, Steve, Natasha, Thor, and Bruce all exchanged a look, briefly remembering the first time the six of them had fought together and become The Avengers. Wanda and Vision just looked mutely at the screens. Wanda thought that not much could surprise her after Ultron, and Sokovia being blown to bits, but this was horrific. Their weaponry was not like anything on Earth. Vision stared at the screens, sadness glinting in his eyes. Rhodey remembered the horrors that had followed the first attack and swallowed hard as he got to his feet, the machinery surrounding his legs whirring. Sam’s arms were crossed over his chest as he shook his head. He had been overseas when the first attack had happened, but the news had spread like wildfire about the alien invasion of NYC. They needed to get there as fast as possible to take down the Chitauri and prevent any more lives from being harmed.
“Avengers, time to work for a living.” Tony tapped his watch to call a suit to him as he got to his feet. Everyone else nodded as they sprinted off to change or grab what they needed. They had all been dressed down, not anticipating any sort of attack. It took them less than five minutes and they were loaded on the Quinjet, headed towards the city. The Quinjet traveled much faster than any other form of transportation, thanks to Stark's technological advances.
“It looks like a portal has been re-opened.” Bruce reported from the screen where his fingers had been flying over the keyboards furiously. He had been trying to track the energy that would surround a portal and he had found it. “It’s on Madison and East Fifty-second.” Once they got the portal closed and everything handled, they would have to assess what caused the portal to open. They had to ensure that this didn’t happen again.
“Okay, Clint, Rhodey, and Sam, you will be up high, calling out where we are needed and taking down the fliers until the portal is closed. Bruce, Tony, and I are going to close the portal. Natasha, Thor, Wanda, you’ll be south of the attack, clearing from the bottom. Peter, Bucky, and Vision will be up north, clearing down until you meet up with the others. Once we have the portal closed, we should be able to just focus on rescue efforts since the Chitauri will de-activate once the portal is closed.” Steve handed out assignments as they flew into the heart of Manhattan. A huge cloud of smoke billowed out from Manhattan, turning the bright summer day into a darkened scene from a horror film. The Avengers hit the ground running, not wanting to waste a second of time.
“I got you!” Peter had one arm wrapped tightly around the crying young woman as looked around before he shot a web out of the nearby window. He had sprinted into the first building he came to, watching Vision drift through the wall of the next building and Bucky take down six Chitauri with perfect precision. There were flames starting to lick around the edge of the window as he flung them to safety. He set her down carefully on a sidewalk, acknowledging her words of gratitude quickly before taking off again into the building on a different floor. It sounded like the three Avengers on the south side were making their way up steadily. NYPD was swarming the area, trying to assist as much as possible and the National Guard would be here to help with cleanup, but until then, the Avengers were the key to keeping injuries and deaths down.
“The building on your right has civilians in it, Web head.” Sam’s ear came crackling through Peter’s ear. Peter snorted, knowing that the nickname was endearing, not demeaning. Peter nodded before he realized that Sam probably couldn’t see that and replied out loud.
“Thanks!” Peter shot a web towards the top of the building on his right, hanging on as he swung up towards the top floor to begin clearing the building.
“Portal is closed!” Tony’s voice was cheerful as he announced the good news into the comms. Peter whooped as he kept clearing the building he had been assigned too. This type of rescue mission would have been way too dangerous for human fire and rescue squads, but his abilities and suit kept him safe. Karen let them know that there was a teenager and young man on the second floor. Peter ducked under a falling beam and grabbed the teenager first, knowing that kids were supposed to get priority. He put the teenager down outside and turned back into the building to grab the older man. Peter was halfway reaching for the man before he felt his entire world crashing down around him as panic and fear raced through him.
The air left Peter’s lungs, leaving them quivering, empty, as Peter started to shake. He knew that face. Every centimeter of it was etched into his memory. He knew those broad shoulders and muscular arms that had pinned him down. He knewthose green eyes. Those were the eyes that haunted his nightmares. He knew the monster that was in front of him. Bile rose up inside of him as he stood frozen for a moment. No, no, no. He was never supposed to see that person again. His heart raced as he fought to figure out up from down through his panic. No, he couldn’t be here. He couldn’t do it. He had to get out. He had to get away. He couldn’t be in the same building as him. No. Please, get away, get off me, don’t come near me. Don’t touch me, please. The person in front of him reached up for him, thinking he was being rescued. Peter scrambled away, falling backwards onto his outstretched hands before he continued to shove away from the person. He was desperate to put distance between him and that person. Peter shook his head frantically as his vision blurred and his heart beat faster. He swallowed hard, trying to keep the vomit down.
“Th-the building i-is c-clear.” Peter’s voice quivered as he disappeared over the edge of the building, barely catching himself before he hit the ground. The person in front of him was confused, calling out for him to come back and grab him. Peter squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to ground himself. He couldn’t do this again. He had put it behind him for so long, but the wounds had been re-opened, and the memories were fresh again, like it had happened five minutes ago. No, please no.
“Are you okay?” Peter jumped at the voice coming from right beside him. Sam landed next to him and gave him a look of confusion. Peter was one of the hardest to rattle during a mission. He was the first to laugh off a serious situation due to his happy-go-lucky personality.
“Yup. Yup. Yup.” Peter gave Sam a shaky thumbs up and a small smile as he tried gallantly to get his breathing back into a normal rhythm. Never, ever, in a million years, did he ever expect to come across that person again. “No-no one else is in there.”
“Um, okay?” Sam raised an eyebrow over his red-tinted safety goggles he wore when he was the Falcon. He tapped the side of the goggles to get a thermal reading. “What gives, there’s one more person in here.” He exclaimed after scanning the building. He turned to scold Peter, but Peter had taken off sprinting in the opposite direction. Peter couldn’t stand near that building for even a second longer. He had to put some distance between the monster and him. Peter shuddered as he ducked behind a building, letting himself collapse for a few minutes in a puddle on the ground. He rocked back and forth, tears falling unseen under his mask, until his gasps for air were more controlled. He knew he had to get back to work, innocent lives depended on it.
~*~*~*~*~
“What gives, Peter?” Peter bit his lip nervously, looking just over Mr. Stark’s shoulder so that he didn’t have to see the disappointment and anger in his eyes as the Quinjet rumbled to life beneath his feet. The National Guard had arrived, and the Avengers had handed over the cleanup to them. The Stark Relief Foundation was on site already to help displaced citizens. Peter had never heard Tony’s disappointed tone directed at him before and it made him burn in his failure. He knew that he had messed up and he knew that his job as a superhero was rescue victims, but that man was not a victim. That man was a monster who had deserved to die in that fire, hopefully painfully, instead of being rescued. That man did not deserve to take another breath. He did not deserve to have an Avenger rescue him. He did not deserve to live.
“Peter, you don’t just get to pick and choose who you are going to save or not save. Avengers don’t get to pick and choose. It’s unacceptable.” Steve’s voice was quieter, but heavy with disappointment. The weight of his words made Peter feel like he was smaller than an ant. Peter felt his heart pang as he avoided Steve’s eyes, not wanting to see the look in them. He knew he had let everyone down, but they just didn’t understand. He didn’t want them to understand either. They would look at him differently, just like everyone at his old school had, once the news came out.
“Seriously, what the hell?” Sam added after Peter didn’t say anything. he threw his arms up, his voice on the verge of hysteria. He had cut it way too close in a collapsing, burning building that he should never have had to go into in the first place. He might have the wings, but he was still completely human and being crushed in a building might have killed him, along with the person that Sam left behind. The kid had been constantly reminding him that he was Spiderman and he was almost an adult and blah blah blah. Obviously, he needed to be reminded that he was a still a child, if he was going to half-ass his task. The person he had left behind would have died without Sam checking behind Peter.
“You wanted to be an Avenger, Peter.” Tony was boiling under the surface. He wasn’t even sure where these strong emotions were coming from, more than his normal level when something went wrong. He had never been so upset with the young teenager before that everyone joked was his son. Peter’s actions would have cost someone their life, possibly Sam’s life too, all because of his carelessness. Peter hung his head in shame as his cheeks burned. Natasha and Clint were up front, piloting the plane, but everyone else was standing around. Peter knew that every single eye was boring a hole through the top of his head. If only they knew why he hadn’t saved this person. He wasn’t being lazy or careless. He wasn’t being a typical teenager. He just, he couldn’t bring himself to touch that person. He could still feel that person’s hands all over him every time he blinked. It haunted his sleep at night and made him double check corners and dark spots.
“Tony.” Bruce stepped closer to Tony. He knew, all too well, what happened when Tony got in on a tangent. Tony was going to say something that he regretted. Unlike the rest of them, who were used to Tony’s ways, Peter was taking these words to heart. Tony didn’t even acknowledge Bruce as he continued lecturing Peter.
“Your actions today are disappointing. Maybe you should just go back to high school for a few years.” Tony’s voice dropped lower, dripping with anger, “You want to be a teenager? You got it.”
“Tony.” Bruce repeated, more insistently, as he took in the shaking teenager in front of him, seeing the warning signs of a full-blown panic attack. Peter looked like he might collapse as a tear fell off the tip of his nose. Peter sniffled as he stared at the ground. The Quinjet was starting to land.
“You don’t understand.” Peter’s voice was so quiet, it barely could be heard. He wrung his hands together.
“Make me understand.” Tony squared his shoulders as he prepared for whatever half-assed excuse Peter was about to make. He had seen the potential in Peter from the first video he had seen of him. Peter was going to be unstoppable one day, but he couldn’t make this type of mistake again. A mistake like this one could tip the public’s opinion of him and make it impossible to be a hero.
“I can’t.” Peter whispered, more tears falling as he hugged himself, trying to control the shaking. They already thought so little of him. He didn’t want them to know the worst secret of his life. He was so ashamed.
“Because there was no good reason.” Tony’s voice grew quieter. Peter suppressed a sob as he felt the wheels touching the ground. There was no one who did a gentler landing than when Clint and Natasha were behind the wheel. Peter dared to look up at Tony and anger flared inside of him.
“YES THERE WAS!” Peter screamed, something snapping inside of him. He was seething as Clint and Natasha appeared from the cockpit. “That man, he deserved to die. He, he raped me.” He choked out before he ran from the jet, leaving everyone behind. Everyone stood in place for a moment, totally shocked by Peter’s confession.
“No.” Tony felt his heart drop out of his body as he clutched his chest with both hands. It was like someone had stabbed him with an icicle at Peter’s outburst. “Please, please, someone tell me he was lying. Please.” He pleaded as he felt himself start to hyperventilate as he took in the bewildered, hurt, and angry expression of the Avengers around him. The dangerous flash in Clint, Natasha, and Bucky’s eyes were not lost on him. Three of the greatest assassins in history were on Peter’s side and they would get to the bottom of this.
“We will find this man and we will end him.” Thor’s tone sent a chill down everyone’s spine. Being on the ruler of Asgard’s bad side was not a good place to be.
“We will end him.” Natasha’s voice echoed Thor’s as her eyes flashed again, full of vengeance, as her index finger twitched once, as if itching to pull a trigger. She stormed off the plane, Clint and Bucky falling in a step behind her. This person would wish they had died in the building before the three of them were done with him.