Chapter Text
Sitting in the room with Agent Colson and Pepper, Tony Stark decides in that moment that he’ll take those cards thrusted into his hands and he’ll say every word transcribed onto them. He doesn’t reveal his identity because he doesn’t want to. He stays as Iron Man for a while… all the way up until the battle of New York. But after that… He’s too shaken up from what happened, and he doesn’t ever want to be seen in the public eye again. It’s too much. So, he goes and does what he knows best. He flees, and he’s never seen again.
Taking his massive fortune, Tony sets up a remote cottage in the middle of nowhere. It’s in the middle of a privately owned woods (his, as of an hour or so before he chose the house) and has access for deliveries if need be. Grabbing most of his books, and his lab equipment (the stuff that’s small enough for him to take, the rest of it will have to come in the van), he moves out of his house overnight and transfers the company over to a very capable Pepper Potts. He knows that she’ll do the best job, and he knows that he wouldn’t.
The new house is in the middle of a cluster of trees, snow building up to a couple of feet during the winter months. Tony’s set up a satellite for his tv, but he doesn’t watch it. He doesn’t connect to the internet. He’s completely on his own, living out a private life that he never got to experience. Eating badly cooked meals (he never did learn how to get by on his own), the ex-socialite finds himself enjoying the quote-on-quote ‘hermit’ style of living.
Sitting in his father’s rocking chair, one stubborn ray of sunshine bothering him, Tony stares down at the pair of hands that brought such destruction. Staring at the entry way to his basement, where there might just be another lab, he sighs. He misses Happy, Pepper, and everyone else he had the pleasure of connecting with, but he also thinks of people like Yinsen that he dismissed… before being the reason of their demise. He should’ve never partied like he did, he should’ve never created weapons to supply to mass-murderers. There was so many should have’s that he could’ve done, and he feels as if he’s just going to sit and dwell on what could’ve been for as long as he should live. It might be a lonely lifestyle now, but it’s one that he thinks he could enjoy… maybe. Given the time.
Gathering his thoughts, he steps outside and takes a breath of fresh air. A young rabbit scurries across his feet, glancing up at him as if it has never seen a human before. Tony pets the wild animal on the head, before watching it run away across the dirt. Catching a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the one car he brought with him, a hesitant smile catches up to him. A man in the wild… what a change.
Four years later
A young, peppy, teenager with bouncy brunette hair wanders down to the parked school coach with his best friend beside him. His name is Peter Parker. He’s smart, tactile, and he’s everything anybody would want in a friend. A perfect student with a GPA of 4.0, Peter looks as if he’s got a bright and brilliant future ahead of him.
Peter stands at about 5’6. He’s fourteen-years-old and has been through more than what meets the eye. At the age of four, he lost both of his parents to a plane crash. He mourned them before he even knew what death was, crying so hard that he passed out on his bedroom floor before he’s told to pack up everything he wanted to keep. He remembers clinging onto the last teddy bear his mama brought him, holding it to his chest as if it was her…
He’s scared of planes from then on. Ben and May (his aunt and uncle) drive cross country to take him to his new home, which is with them. He doesn’t sleep in his new bed they make him, tears keeping him awake for ungodly hours. When he grows up, he feels shameful for how his younger self acted. He knows he was confused, but Ben had to mourn his brother… but how could he when he had to look after a toddler?
Peter’s life is full of tragedy as he grows up. Things happen to him that he’d never want to recall, things he’s thrown to the back of his head. He lives, however. He puts on a smile at times, but sometimes it’s real. His guardians are lovely. Ben and May give him an incredible childhood… something he’ll forever be grateful for.
“Oscorp?” Peter whines, looking over at Ned (the aforementioned best friend) with a frown. “Seriously? Why couldn’t they get a trip to Stark Industries instead? I’d love to meet Miss Potts,” he adds. “I would’ve loved to meet Mr Stark too… but I don’t imagine he’s there. He used to be in the press like all the time and then those people kidnapped him and that was it.”
“I think I’d do the same,” Ned says, choosing the middle of the coach for the two of them to sit on. He scurries himself over to the window seat, letting Peter sit next to him with both of their bags on the alleyway. “I can’t imagine how scary it would’ve been.”
“Yeah…” Peter says, putting his and Ned’s bag by his feet. He might be quite scrawny and weak at times, but Peter was determined and was going to prove to Ned that carrying both their bags would be easy (even if it was starting to make him a little out of breath). “But… he did have that awesome bodyguard. What was it that they called him?”
“Alloy… no- Iron Man, wasn’t it?” Ned says, looking out at the view as the coach slowly pulls away from their school. Ned’s eyes were too focused on the greenery to notice his best friend stealing one of his snacks. He wouldn’t have cared anyway. He always did think that Peter needed to eat more. “I would’ve killed to have a bodyguard like that.”
“Me too,” Peter nods, putting in his headphones. He puts Ned’s in their headphone adapter, pressing play on ‘Peter and Ned’s roadtrip’ playlist that they made together specifically for school trips. They ignore the rest of the chattering from their classmates, enjoying each other’s company (like they always did). They play all sorts of songs that they both love, and before they know it they’ve arrived.
Oscorp was… fine. Until Mr Harrington stopped them all for a toilet break. When Peter strolled out of the visitor’s bathroom, his tour group had disappeared. Looking around for a few seconds, he thought he heard the footsteps of his friends. Taking that trail, the small teenager somehow found himself in an alleyway that did not look safe to walk down. Peter thought it must be fine, however. But as a sharp pain entered the top of his arm… he wasn’t so sure.
Jumping out of his skin once he saw the dead spider on the floor, he realised it must’ve bit him. Not knowing the type of toxins that might be in his body, Peter wasn’t sure how to feel. He kept walking… but his eyesight was weird. Taking off what he thought were faulty glasses, he realised that he could see. He’s never been able to look out at the world perfectly. He’s needed glasses since the age of three. What was happening?
Peter caught up to the group without anyone noticing he was gone… except Ned. Ned was asking all sorts of questions, but Peter just felt sick. He couldn’t move his arm, and nothing felt the same. And as they walked down the steps back to the coach after the trip was done, Peter collapsed alongside his and Ned’s bag.
After a few minutes of panicking, the school finally woke him up. As well as calling Uncle Ben to come and get him. Ben was at work, but he’d always give up time if it meant Peter was okay. He was the best Uncle/Dad in the world.
“What’s up, Petey-Pie?” Ben says, walking down the road with his car keys swinging around his finger. His dark brown hair was spiked up, styled in a way that only he thought was still cool. “Not feeling very good? That’s alright, bud. We’ll just get some hot coca in you and some paracetamol. Hopefully, you’ll be back to normal in the morning.” He smiles, picking Peter up and putting him over his shoulder just like he used to do. It was harder now that the young boy was grown up, but Ben didn’t care. He’d be carrying his boy until he was a grown adult (if possible).
Walking to their apartment, Peter didn’t have the energy to open his eyes. Ben looked worried, but he pretended to be strong. The young boy could just tell. Putting a cold towel on top of his head, he wasn’t getting any cooler. Something was wrong… all of it relating back to that spider bite. Ben decides to leave it until morning, but Peter’s in so much pain that he thinks he won’t survive that long.
He does survive, in fact. But he wakes up and he feels as if everything has changed. His whole body feels different. It’s as if he went to bed as someone else and woke up in a stranger’s body. Getting his camera app up on his phone, he quickly checks that he hasn’t entered the next freaky-Friday remake. When he’s sure that he is himself, he finally starts to process what was going on.
“Holy shit,” Peter whispers to himself, as he’s led down by himself on the top bunk. He can breathe. He’s not asthmatic. He hasn’t had to take his medicine. It’s as if the Spider bite has given him powers…
No, that can’t be right. He gets up to test his new theory and astonishes himself with the results... He’s stronger than he’s ever been before, and he’s even sticking to the walls with nothing but his bare hands. Something in that Spider was different. Peter always suspected Oscorp to be dodgy, and now this could prove it.
Hearing a scream resonate outside of his bedroom window, the teenager runs over to his window to see an older lady cry out in dismay over a stolen purse. Looking down at his hands… Peter realises he can make a difference. Jumping down from his window, the young man sprints. He’s faster, and he doesn’t even need to stop for a break. He gets to the thief, gets the purse back, and saves the day. Seeing the older lady’s face, Peter has an epiphany. He could be an avenger! He could finally make a difference… maybe his parent’s would be proud of him.
And that is how the infamous/famous (depending on your point of view) Spider-man was born.
One month later.
“Peter, you’ve been running out of this house every night in the past week. Your teachers are telling me that you’re not bothering in school, and that your grades are going down. What’s going on?” Uncle Ben says, his voice coming out as tired. He’s got his hand around Peter’s wrist, holding it so the teenager can’t get out of the door he was heading towards. May’s standing beside him, slowly nodding along to her husband’s worried rant.
“I haven’t-,”
“There’s no point in lying, kid,” Ben sighs, shaking his head. “I’ve seen you climb out of that window with your rucksack on for three nights in a row. Please tell me you’re not out doing drugs. You’re a good kid, Peter. Don’t ruin it.”
“I’m not doing drugs!” Peter exclaims. He doesn’t know why Ben would think that of him. But he still can’t tell his uncle the truth. Spider-man has already made a few enemies. He doesn’t want one of them to come back and try to enact some revenge on his family. For now, he thinks it’s a good idea to keep it a secret. “Seriously, Ben! I’m just going to see Ned!”
“That’s what I thought, buddy. But then I called Ned’s mother to see if I was correct, but apparently you haven’t been over there in over a month,” Ben tells Peter’s, eyebrows furrowing in the way they always did whenever Ben had a temper. “Just tell me the truth, Parker.”
“Oh, would you just give me a break?” Peter snaps. “I’m allowed to go out of the house! You can’t just keep me locked up like a caged animal.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. I’m not keeping you locked up. You can go out; I just want to know where. And there’s a thing called a curfew. I don’t want you out late at night. You could get hurt, Pete. There’s a lot of bad people out there,” Ben practically begs, frowning when Peter rips his arm out of the older man’s hold. Ben quickly turns around and runs out of the main door with a scowl itched upon his face.
Peter turns the corner a few hours later, regretting his choice to patrol that night as the rain hammers it down on his head, and comes face to face with Ben. Ben nods at him, not realising it was the teenager he was looking for because of the mask. He watches his uncle walk past, his heart falling in his chest from the guilt of yelling at him.
Ben walks down into the local convenience store, asking the owner if he’s seen him. Peter had walked around the corner to change out of his handmade Spider-man suit. When he comes back, he sees the man with the gun. A man, who was probably barely in his 20’s, threw on a ski mask. He stalks into the store, pressing a gun against the owner. Peter sets into panic mode, immediately running down the road. He doesn’t care for the weather, that he might slip, because Ben’s the nicest person in the world. Knowing his uncle, he’d sacrifice his life to save the other person, and Peter can’t lose another family member. He can’t.
As Peter gets to the door, he sees the gun go off. Watching Ben tumble down to the floor, he screams out in agony. He throws himself on top of Ben’s body, putting his hands over the gunshot wound. “No, Ben. No. No, please,” he cries, shaking his head as tears run down his cheeks. “Ben look at me, please.”
Ben slowly raises his hand and puts it on Peter’s cheek, “I love you, son.”
“Ben- please.”
“You’re the best kid, Parker.”
“Don’t say goodbye, Ben. You’re going to be fine,” Peter begs. He doesn’t believe it himself, but he must. He has to survive, otherwise Peter doesn’t know what he’d do. “You’re going to do just fine. P-Please.”
“Look after May, okay? Both of you are going to be just fine, kid. I love you both so much,” He whispers, his voice breaking at the end of his sentence. His eyes blink slowly, and suddenly shut before Ben can say anything else. Peter shakes him to try and wake him back up… but that’s it. It’s over.
Peter doesn’t know what to do. The thief is gone. People are trying to get past him to Ben, whilst trying to say things to him. They’re putting their hands on him to try and ask him if they could help, but he’s completely gone. Before he can think anything through, Peter runs. He runs without any thoughts. Before he knows it, he’s standing outside a bus stop he doesn’t recognise in the pouring rain. He’s alone. His uncle is dead… and it’s all his fault.
Using a bit of money that he finds in his pocket, Peter jumps onto the nearest bus he can find. He doesn’t know where it’s going… but he figures it’s better than facing Ben’s wife, his aunt, to tell him he was the reason he died. He loves May… but- but she would hate him once she found out what he did. So, he had to go far. He had to leave… for good.
Ten hours later
Tony Stark looks around his cottage, using the eggs he got from the local market to make his breakfast. He hasn’t slept, however. Even if the kidnapping and everything else was so long ago, he still can’t get it out of his mind. After finishing up, he goes downstairs into his now expanded lab.
Hundreds of Iron Man suits line the lab. He may not be the superhero he was for a short time, but that didn’t stop the need to create. He needed more suits… just in case. Seeing the wormhole, and everything that came with it, he knew something was coming. He knew that the world would be attacked one day, and he couldn’t sit by when it came.
Tinkering on one of the suits, Tony let the day go by like he did every day. It always felt the same. Wiping some of the oil on his face, the billionaire looks around the room and marvels at his work. He never takes them flying, too scared for somebody to see the suit. He doesn’t know if they would even work… but he has to have them. He needs them more than anything else. It’s the only thing that keeps him going.
The nightmares come and go. Sometimes he dreams of Pepper dying. He still loves her, and he misses her more than anything. But she’s better off without him. He dreams of the wormhole, of Natasha closing the portal before he could get out. That ship… it makes his heart skip every single time he thinks of it.
Talking to DUM-E for a bit, the only social interaction he has (other than FRIDAY, of course), the man looks into the mirror. He looks a bit more scruffy than usual, his goatee looking more like a full beard. He never wears the fancy suits he used to, liking the look of a band tee and joggers more. He’s very different now, of course.
He did get calls from the Avengers sometimes, but he never answered them. In fact, he cut his phone lines entirely two years ago. They’re the only people in the world that know he was Iron Man. They want to bring him back to the team, but Tony knows it wouldn’t be good for him. He’s good to just spend his time in the forest with the wild animals. For everyone always knew the truth. Tony Stark was destined to be alone, wasn’t he?
Stepping out of the lab, Tony winces at the sun’s rays. It’s winter, however, so it’s not too strong. He sees the snowflakes fall, sighing. It’s always hard to get around at this time of the year. The snow builds up so much that it’s almost impossible to get out to the local village. He probably should go and stock up for the rest of the season.
He says goodbye to his favourite little rabbit that always runs past his house, getting into the classic car he brought with him to the cottage. He drives down the winding roads, parking up by the local shop. Nobody has ever realised it was him, luckily, so he goes through the day without any disturbances.
The bus that only comes into town every week strolls in. Only one kid gets off it, looking worse for wear. Tony ignores it however, walking past into the shop he gets all his food from. The lady at the counter greets him, knowing him as ‘Tony from the woods’. He doesn’t make too much conversation, buying more food than he’ll probably need.
Feeling prepared for the winter, the billionaire jumps back into his car and drives back down to his forest. He parks the car outside. He knows that the snow will probably cover it soon, so he says one goodbye until the sun creeps out again.
Stepping back inside before the snow gets too bad, Tony sits back on his sofa and picks up the book he left that morning. Placing the bookmark on the table, the billionaire got stuck back into the narrative. He had read more books during the last four years than he ever did before, and he loved it. Reading was an escape. It was healthy. Even if he still worked on his suits, he would’ve done much more than just that if he couldn’t get into a book and escape the real world. Falling asleep with the book on his lap, the nightmares returned. What Tony wouldn’t give for just one stress free night.
Meanwhile.
Peter jumps off the coach, pulling up to a village he knew nothing about. He walks down the streets, spotting a classic car that looked like it belonged to someone who was far too eccentric to live in such a small place like this. Or, perhaps, that was why they’d come here. He reads a sign that suggests this village is the home of America’s best pies. Peter thinks he’d disagree. Ben made- he- well, he didn’t anymore. Because now he’s gone.
With his head hung low, Peter jumps as the car he saw earlier drives past him. He watches the back of it as his stomach growls. He’s never been this hungry before. The snow’s too cold, making him shiver. He swears it shouldn’t be this cold. Thinking back to everything he knew about spiders… he knew they couldn’t thermoregulate. What if Peter couldn’t too? He’d pass out in the next hour if he couldn’t find a place to stay.
Walking into the nearby café, Peter realises he hasn’t got any money left. He used the rest of it to get here. Sighing in defeat, he turns around with a frown. Walking down a stone path, he tries to find a different place that might have someone that could take him in. But as he gets further down the road, he realises he’s far from any house. He’s in the middle of a private woods, and he’s pretty much terrified.
There are a few rabbits near him that seem more domesticated than wild animals should be. He sits beside them, tears bubbling up in his eyes. He can’t get that image of Ben out of his mind. It’s only been about ten hours… and he can’t imagine ever being the same again. His uncle’s dead, he’s missing, and he’s going to die out in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Dying surrounded by rabbits, in the deep snow… that’s how his life’s going to end.
Looking up, Peter sees a house a few metres away. There’s a soft sound of music coming out of the windows, the lights flickering. The snow is incredibly heavy, turning into something like a snowstorm in one second. It’s nothing like he’s ever seen before. The boy moves as quickly as he could, stomping through the few inches that have already accumulated. He needs to ask this person for help, but he can’t get there… he can’t do it.
Collapsing just as he reaches the porch, Peter’s head hits the wood and makes him unconscious. His mind goes blank, and he barely hears the person at the door calling for him. He doesn’t hear anything at all…
Meanwhile
Tony Stark was about to finish the last moment of his gripping novel when he hears something (or someone) trip his security wires. Suddenly on edge, the man stood up and ran to his door. Not knowing what to do if someone found him, his heart was beating hard in his chest. But when he looks aside, he sees a young boy tumble by his front door. He tilts his head, confused, and slowly wanders up to the kid.
Well, this wasn’t good.