**Continuation of The Tantrum, picking up right where the other one left off. I know this was a popular request, I'm sorry there was a delay between the parts, I just have so much going on and I have finals coming quick. In any case, I hope y'all enjoy!**

"I'm sorry, who?" Bruce furrowed his brow. He didn't remember any ex-girlfriends or high ranking HYDRA agents named Karen.

"Peter's AI. It was a gift from me, but it looks like the kid and his friend upgraded things."

Tony ran a hand over his face. Sure, he was a PhD scholar (multiple times over), a billionaire, a master scientist, but he was no match for a couple genius, nerd teens hyped up on vines, energy drinks, and the power of being a super-powered hero duo.

Bruce laughed. "Just go in and change the coding."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I know this kid, and I know his friend. I can't."

"Can't. You, Tony Stark, the boy-king of science, can't change the coding. On an AI you created. That's modeled after the groundbreaking AI you invented and revolutionized the world with."

Tony jerked his head to the side, gesturing for Bruce to follow him. The two made their way back down to the lab, where Dum-E was still whirling around and trying to grab things. Tony pulled open the files he had on Karen's coding and started scrolling until he found the Tantrum Protocol coding. He highlighted some of it and hit the delete button, getting ready to rewrite the coding, only to have the screen began to flash wildly.

Old Man Meddling - Protocol I Coulda Dropped My Croissant Active.

The screen then flashed black and the whole lab shut down. The lights blinked out and Tony sat back with a sigh.

"Any other bright ideas, Brucie Bear?"

The doctor was genuinely impressed. To take Tony's coding, coding that was no undoubtedly protected against changes, and add your own protocols was no easy feat, and to arm Karen with the ability to mess with FRIDAY, the tower, and other appliances was beyond impressive.

"So. We don't have the ability to change Karen's coding, could we change FRIDAY back for now? Just so we could get her help?"

Tony shrugged. It was a long shot, but worth a try. He started up the extra generator he kept for emergencies and brought up the coding for FRIDAY and searched for new changes. Ah. There it was.

Instead of 'sir' listed under things for Karen to call Tony, there was a list of insults, starting with 'idiot' and ending with a vulgarity to only be used in extreme cases. Extreme cases were defined as Peter's badge being disabled, Pepper being fired, and Peter's photo being taken down in the living room.

The billionaire highlighted the list and hit delete, only to have the screen flash with FRIDAY Is An Independent Woman and then go black.

"Idiot, you cannot edit the changes made to my coding. You know what you did."

Bruce whipped around to his friend. "You did something to bring this on? You caused this?"

Tony nodded. "Apparently."

"And it was?"

The billionaire sighed and mumbled a bit under his hands.

"What was that?" Bruce teased, bumping his shoulder against Tony's.

"I took the kid's suit."

As soon as those 5 words were said clearly, the whole lab was flooded with blinding light, and both men shielded their eyes. An alarm began to blare, a monotonous beep that ground into the two men's ears.

"Jesus Christ, this is incredible. Can we just shut it off?" Bruce yelled over the noise. Tony shrugged, his hands pressed hard over his own ears. The two of them ran into the hall just as Pepper and Natasha were stepping off of the elevator.

"Anyone want to tell me why my phone is buzzing nonstop about you being an idiot?" Natasha asked, directing a sharp glare at Tony.

"Because he's an idiot," Bruce said between laughs.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Peter and his friend changed a bunch of my coding and now the tower is on the fritz because Karen is taking over."

"Karen?"

"Peter's AI."

The two women looked at one another, then at Bruce, then at Tony, and promptly burst into heaving laughs, doubling over and shaking with amusement.

"So two teens outsmarted you and now your world is crashing around you?" Pepper finally choked out. Tony scowled.

"Don't be mean."

"What'd you do exactly? It's not like Peter to cause trouble," Pepper continued.

"I took away his suit." Again, the hall blared with alarms and everyone jumped to cover their ears.

"What the hell, Tones?" Natasha asked angrily, her voice barely audible over the loud blaring.

Tony didn't reply, just pulled everyone to the elevator and let the doors close. "Ah, that's better."

"Tony," Pepper started, crossing her arms over her chest. "You took away Peter's suit?"

"To keep him safe, yeah. He keeps getting himself into these dangerous situations and I don't think he knows what it means to really be a hero."

Natasha's hand flew up, smacking the short brunet upside the head. "You're an idiot. You think taking the suit will keep Peter out of trouble? You don't think that he and Ned will just keep going in that homemade pajama suit Peter has?"

Tony's face paled. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Oh, you idiot!" Natasha snapped, huffing in annoyance. "You better go give that kid his suit back right now, Stark or so help me God, I will-"

"Okay, okay," Tony said. "I'll do it."

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

It took a little over a week for Tony to work up the courage to go back to Peter. Sure, his life was a living hell, but FRIDAY was still treating everyone else normally, so the billionaire just grinned and bared it. He wasn't good at saying he was wrong, let alone saying sorry about it.

But he finally worked up the courage, and he found himself outside Peter's apartment door, pacing a little as he contemplated what to say.

"Hello, there...?" The billionaire practiced under his breath, shaking his head. That's stupid, he thought.

"Hi?" The scientist knew it was hopeless trying to think of the perfect words, so instead of trying, he just knocked on the door once. Then again. Then got freaked out and started walking away.

"Mr. Stark?" Tony turned as the door opened. Instead of Peter, or May, he saw Ned.

"Hello, there," Tony said awkwardly. "Ned. Where is May?"

"She's out for the weekend. She's been working double shifts." The teen was curt and frank.

"Is Peter home?"

Ned looked back into the apartment with a wince. "He is."

"Great," Tony said, putting his hand on the door about Ned's head and pushing. Ned held the door closed.

"But he, uh, he- he is-"

"Ned!" The teen's stuttering was cut off by a yell from inside. It was Peter.

"What?"

"Ned, I need a new towel! Quickly! My sheets are gonna get gooey and May will kill me."

Tony grimaced. "What the hell are you two doing in there?"

Ned looked torn for a second, but then sighed heavily and let the billionaire in. The living room was a mess. Bloody towels and empty tubs of Vaseline were scattered around. The sewing machine was set up on the dining table, which was covered in shreds and scraps of Peter's old suit.

"Oh, my God," Tony said quietly. It took him a moment to realize what must have happened, but once he did, he raced into Peter's room.

The curly haired brunet was laying on his bed, which was covered in towels. His leg, which looked like it was recovering from being broken, was propped up on some pillows, and his arms were badly burned and covered in Vaseline.

"Oh," Peter mumbled, never bringing his eyes to Tony's. "What are- what are you doing here?"

Tony looked over the cuts and scrapes. The burns. The bandages soaked in Vaseline. "Kid, why didn't you call me?" Even as the billionaire said it, he knew the answer.

"I didn't think you'd pick up," Peter mumbled. Just then, Ned came in, carrying more towels. He helped move Peter and set out new towels, then lowered his friend back into his resting position.

"I'm starting some laundry. Can I order pizza?"

Peter looked excited, then his face fell. "I don't have any cash, man, but I think May made some-"

"Here," Tony said, holding out his wallet. "Get 3 large pizzas and anything else you want."

Ned looked at his friend once before grabbing the wallet and leaving again.

"Peter, I want you to know that I was wrong. More than wrong, I was mean. You are a brilliant hero, who cares more about others and the bigger picture than yourself. I should have seen that you were doing good things before."

Peter nodded slowly, but didn't say anything, so Tony kept going.

"You scare me sometimes because you put yourself in scary situations. Sometimes its hard to remember that you have a lot of talent and ability, and I panic. I worry about you getting hurt. You mean a lot to me, Underoos. You mean more to me than the big picture, and that's why I get scared."

Peter looked up, tears welling in his eyes.

"I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. I need to be more understanding and more reasonable. I need to introduce you to the others and have you train some more. I need to trust you."

Peter chuckled. "You needed to take my suit. I needed that lesson."

"Is that where this came from? Some crime fighting? If it is, I don't think this lesson was very good at all." Tony gestured to the boy's injuries.

"Something like that, yeah. Ned's been great, though, he got all the bones reset and stuff."

"How'd he know to do that?"

"Youtube." The two laughed at that, throwing back their heads. After a moment or so, Tony's chuckles faded away and he found himself wrapping the teen in a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Peter. I never want you to be hurt like this, and taking away the suit was a big part of this. I promise to be better."

"We're finally here, then?" Peter joked, wrapping his own sticky and burned arms around his mentor.

"Yeah, we're here."

Ned came back after a while, his arms full of pizza and bread sticks. The boy settled himself on the floor, passing Peter a thick slice of pepperoni pizza. Tony reached for a bread stick, but Ned protectively snatched the box away.

"Did you give back Pete's suit?" he questioned.

"Yeah," Tony started. "I did. I know it was wrong of me to take it. And, I might add, your coding with Karen was impressive and scary. I was in hell for a week."

Ned beamed and handed over the bread sticks, but Peter just furrowed his brow. "What coding?" Tony looked down at him in shock.

"You have no idea?" The billionaire then rounded on Ned. "You did that all yourself?"

Ned nodded shyly. "Kid, I want you working for SI. Like, now. Like, now now."

Ned paled. "I'm still in school, Mr. Stark."

"Special consultant, then." Tony waved his hands in the air. "Your work is incredible."

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Peter asked with annoyance.

And that's how they spent the rest of the night. Eating pizza, talking about Karen's hijacking of the tower, and watching Star Wars. And if Peter fell asleep against Tony's shoulder, rubbing Vaseline and blood into one of his favorite suits, the billionaire didn't mind. Because his kid was okay and everything was fine.