Weeks passed. Peter was careful to keep his eyes open while patrolling for the team, and the team was constantly trying to catch him while he was out. They already knew too much for Peter's liking, and with them watching his schedule so carefully, they were learning more every day.

There was a big list written in one of the conference rooms of all the things the team knew about Spiderman, and Peter was acutely aware of how long it was getting. Right below 'vigilante' and 'spider-powers' were the words 'student, science fair winner, likes Ironman, lives downtown'. It was Peter's fault, really, he let too much slip when he was firing off comebacks and sassy remarks.

"I really am sorry!" Peter called over his shoulder as he ran from yet another fight with the Avengers. He hated being the one to take them down, he hated using his dad's weaknesses against him on the street, he hated the way Natasha looked at him with a snarl, he hated the way Steve would try to use his PSA voice on him. He hated those things because they were all things he felt as Peter Stark, not as Spiderman. They were personal.

"Ned, please give me some good news."

"Sorry, Pete," Ned said over the headset. "No new leads on HYDRA. How was that last showdown with your dad?"

"Not so good, dude. Not so good." Peter swung through the city, trying to get the look of disgust his father had thrown at him out of his head just minutes ago. "Could you do a sweep for any and all weapons manufacturers in the area and cross-reference private flights to and from any warehouses they may have?"

"We did that 3 days ago and got nothing," Ned sighed. "We've tried pretty much everything. I don't think we're going to find them."

Peter stopped to catch his breath and wracked his brain. "Have we checked recently leased office buildings?"

Ned furrowed his brows on the other end of the phone. "Why?"

"They were in the city the first time I ran into them. It'd be too predictable to be in some warehouse or abandoned canning factory on the coast. I think they're trying to lay low."

Ned typed quickly, the sound of muffled keyboard clacks coming through to Peter's end. "There's been a few. It looks like some were expansions of already existing businesses, but there are a few that are either brand new or virtually unknown names."

Peter smiled under his make-shift mask. "Perfect. Get me an address."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spiderman crept through the 7th window that day, acutely aware of of how sore and tired he was. Ned had gone to bed long ago, and Peter was supposed to be home some 9 hours ago, but this was the second to last one. He was so close to finding those men who were plotting against his family.

His family.

It hadn't taken long for Peter to star considering Steve, Clint, Thor, Bruce, and Natasha part of the family. Especially Natasha. She was quickly settling into a hole in Peter's life. She was the one he came to with girl problems and embarrassing stories about Flash. She was the one he talked to when Tony was being overbearing and controlling and too much to deal with. She was the one who helped him scrub oil and strawberry jam and grass stains out of his nice shirts.

Peter shook the thoughts out of his head. He was vaguely aware of the shadows rolling along the wall, cast by a lazy fan over a vent in the opposite wall and the dull hum of machines. They would help mask his movement if anyone else was there. The teen made his way over the wall and up onto the ceiling, pausing only a few times when he thought he heard something in one of the rooms flanking the hall.

At the end of the hall was a large set of double doors. It looked like something you'd find leading into a kitchen - the building had been used for a culinary school for a few years - with big handles and slightly fogged over glass in the windows.

Peter pushed them open and scurried through, shielding his eyes as he was blinded by the light in the room. People were moving in and out of a industrial lift, moving boxes to be taken down to the main floor. They didn't notice Peter right away, but there was no where to hide in this room. There were no shadows, no high ceilings, no stacked shipping containers.

One of the men spotted Peter and pointed. There was a spray of gun fire. Peter fell from the wall and onto the floor, a rush of men surging forward to grab him. Super strength could only go so far, though, and Peter couldn't break through all of them. He was wrestled to the ground, his face pushed into the floor as he felt someone zip-tie his wrists, he broke the restraints easily.

"Easy, boys, you don't want to damage the goods."

The voice was familiar and deep. Like a fog rolling over hills and filling valleys, it rolled around the room and made Peter squirm.

"This is Spiderman. He's a hero," the voice said. The men all laughed, mocking the word 'hero'. "We should treat him nicer."

Peter was vaguely aware of the feeling of someone walking closer to him, but he couldn't pin-point where they were. The sound of their footsteps echoed in the room too much, the vibrations in the floor were too subtle. A foot jerked out and caught the teen in the ribs, making him double over. Hot, electric shocks pulsated down his back as he felt the tip of a taser find contact with his shoulder. The teen bucked and spasmed, his head striking a tabled leg near by and causing a ringing to go through his ears.

"Now," the voice said, pulling Peter up and clipping handcuffs on his wrists. They were strong, almost like they were made specifically for enhanced- "I think, Spiderman, this is what you would call a situation back at home base. Let's find out just how long it takes for your dad to come looking."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony paced, his hands in his hair, his face screwed up in a pain-like grimace. Natasha was at his side, her fingers dancing over a laptop as she scoured the databases for any information. The rest of the team was spread along the living room couch, with Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy at the dining table. Each one was doing their part.

"I've got SHIELD looking," Clint said as he snapped a phone shut. No doubt it was one of the burners he used to contact agents. "Fury sent out 2 teams an hour ago, and there's another working from the base."

Tony nodded numbly. He hated this. He hated this whole...

"Tony," Natasha's hand was filling his and she looked up at him. "We're going to find him. I promise that." She pressed a chaste kiss to Tony's knuckles, then went back to her work on the data systems. Tony loved that about her. She was cool and collected, even when things were at rock bottom and Tony himself was scared out of his mind. He knew she was scared in the way she held her shoulders tensed up or the way her eyebrows rose a little over her forehead, but she wasn't going to show it. She wasn't going to come apart like Tony was. He needed her, and she was there.

"Has anyone thought of calling one of Peter's friends? Maybe Ned?" Steve asked as he pulled out yet another map of New York City to mark a couple security cameras he'd checked.

"Or MJ," Natasha added. "He might have gone to see her, actually."

"He has a girlfriend?" Tony asked.

Natasha shook her head. "Not yet, but he likes her. He might have worked up the courage to ask her our."

Tony shook his head a little. "How do you know this?"

"We talked about it," Natasha said. "He needed some advice."

Tony pursed his lips and the team began to search for MJ's information. Tony was happy Peter was accepting Natasha into the family - it sure made dating easier - but it was also painful. Was he not trustworthy enough for his son to confide girl problems? Or was he just not 'mom material'?

"She runs a blog about female empowerment and the perils of capitalism," Clint said finally. "I can try and find her Facebook page from this."

After a minute or so, he made a clicking noise with his tongue, dug out his real phone, and dialed the number on speakerphone. The phone rang several times before a groggy voice came over the line.

"This is M-fucking-J at 4 in the morning. Can I help you?"

Natasha and Tony both gave a little chuckle despite the situation.

"Hey, MJ, this is Clint Barton. I'm a superhero known as Hawkeye, and I work with Tony Stark. Have you seen Peter at all?"

MJ woke right up. "Why should I tell you? It's not like I give out random information about my friends to strangers."

"MJ," Tony said, stepping forward. "This is Tony. Peter's dad. You're right to be concerned, but Peter's hasn't come home yet and I need to know if you know anything."

MJ was quiet for a moment before giving a sigh. "I haven't seen him, Mr. Stark, but I bet Ned would know. They're practically glued to one another via keyboards."

There was the sound on shuffling linens and a glass falling onto the floor.

"Motherfuck."

The team shared little smiles and giggles as MJ swore her way through her room. "Alright," she said finally. "I'm going to get dressed and come over to the Tower. I'll grab Ned on my way."

The phone disconnected, and everyone sat back. "I like her," Natasha said with shining eyes. "She's a spitfire."

Tony nodded, his mind elsewhere. He only hoped this teen girl and Peter's nerdy friend would help them find Peter. That's all that mattered tonight.