Chapter 85

Things between Toni and Steve and Peter were a bit strained for a few days after the incident on the ferry. That is, while Peter still talked to them, she could see that he was growing desponded as a result of her taking away the suit from him.

She knew he hated not being out there on the street, and in all honesty, it was taking all her will power to not just give him back the suit and pretend everything was fine.

Especially when everything was indeed not fine.

She'd taken care of the damages that that had occurred, paying off any settlements and buying a car of equal value to those who lost theirs, and covering repairs of the others. She'd also had her suits fish out all the cars so that they weren't littering the waters and paid for the damages to the ferry. And while the city of New York seemed perfectly happy with forgiving her, it seemed that her son still did not. Well at least not fully.

So when he came into the Tower from school that day fluttering around nervously, she couldn't but notice.

"Peter is everything okay?" she asked, as she set down her tablet and glanced at him.

"No!" he said quickly, "I mean yes? Maybe? I don't know!"

"Okay why don't you tell me what's happening, and we'll figure out what to do," she said, as she guided him over to the couch.

"I uh asked a girl to the homecoming dance?" he said, sounding nervous, "A senior girl. And I don't really know what to do now. She's really pretty, Mom. And really, really smart. She's the captain of the Academic Decathlon team. I don't even have a suit!"

"Okay first, why don't you take a deep breath," she said, relaxing once she realized this was about a girl, and not her son being a superhero. She hadn't gotten very many of these moments with her son that weren't academic based or hero based, so it was nice to have the typical teenage stuff as well. "Did she say yes?"

"Mom!" Peter grumbled, looking unimpressed.

"Okay, just checking," she raised her hands, "Gotta make sure both of you are consenting after all. So next, what's the matter?"

"I need a suit," he said taking a deep breath as he tried to find the next high priority thing he had to deal with.

"I had a few made when you moved in," she said with a nod. "They should be in the back of your closet. Why don't you try one on and we'll see if we need any adjustments, okay?"

He looked surprised at that but nodded as he rushed to his room to try it on. He emerged about ten minutes later, and she couldn't help the smile that fitted her face as she saw the black suit draped over him.

"Don't you look lovely," she said, as she stood up to adjust his collar.

"Mom," he said, a bit embarrassed.

"I mean it," she told him, genuinely, "I've watched you grow up, Peter, and you've grown into an incredible young man. And seeing you in this suit, well, let's just say it's taking everything from me not to cry."

"Please don't cry," he said, as he smiled shyly. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"Yes, Sweetheart," she told him, "I think you'll blow her away."

"I don't know how to dance," he said after a moment, "I don't want to make a fool of myself. And if Flash sees me, he'll never let me live it down."

"Is that the boy who always looks like he's swallowed a lemon?" she asked.

"Yeah that's him," he grinned.

"Okay, we'll dancing we can fix as well," she said as she extended a hand out to him, "I've been dancing at galas since I was ten years old. I doubt you'll need to be able to do a proper waltz or anything like that. So why don't I teach you how to do a simple dance okay?"

"Okay," he nodded, as he took her hand. She placed it gently on her waist, as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He was growing taller each day, and she knew it wasn't long before she had to look up to meet his eyes. She took his other hand in her own.

"JARVIS, play Moonlight Sonata," she said.

"What, no ACDC?" Peter asked her teasingly.

"Hush," she said, as she guided them along to the melody, "You and I both know they don't play the kind of music you're looking to dance to."

He swayed back and forth, following her lead, and she smiled at him.

"Good, now I want you to lead, okay? Doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just move with the music. This is just a high school dance. Most of the kids are just going to be swaying."

He moved with her, as he guided her across their living room.

"So how about you tell me more about this girl. Does she have a name?" Toni asked, as she saw him blush.

"Her name's Liz," Peter admitted. "She's amazing, Mom. She's so smart and I swear she knows every answer before any teacher even finishes asking a question. She's on like almost every committee and she has really nice eyes. I didn't think she would even agree to go with me, but she said she wanted to when I asked."

"I'm happy for you, Darling," she said, as she saw Steve enter the room and watch them both with a smile. "You deserve someone who makes you happy."

"I love you, Mom," he said after a few moments, and she gave him a soft smile, "I really am sorry about everything that happened, and I'm not trying to get the suit back. I just want you to know I understand why you guys took it away, and I'm not mad. I'm really glad to have both you and Dad in my life, and for everything you've done for me."

"I'm glad we have you too, Sweetheart," she said, as the song came to an end. "You're going to do wonderful at the dance."

He grinned at them both as Steve came over to them then, extending a hand to her.

Peter beamed as the next song started and she smiled as she took his hand and he guided her across the floor.

"What's this for?" she asked, as he smiled.

"You can't expect for such beautiful music to be playing and for me to not want to sweep you off your feet," Steve told her and she felt her heart melt.

"I love you," she said, and Peter only laughed, as Steve pressed his lips against hers.

Peter gulped to himself. The minute Mr Toomes said he wanted to speak to Peter alone, he knew it wouldn't be good.

And it wasn't.

Mr Toomes knew the truth about him. That he was Spider-Man.

And worse yet, Mr Toomes was The Vulture.

He walked away from the car, knowing the man was watching him carefully, ready for Peter to do something stupid like attack him in the middle of the parking lot of a high school dance.

He wasn't that stupid though.

He wouldn't call himself a genius, but he did know a thing or two about making the right choice in a situation like this.

Mr Toomes knew who he was. And he would be launching an attack today when he knew Peter was otherwise occupied. He'd given Peter a chance. The chance to be a normal teenager and take his daughter to the dance, or to try and be a hero and stop him. And most likely die.

He closed his eyes as he entered the school. He wished more than anything that he could be a normal teenager. That he could dance with the girl he liked. That he could just be normal.

But Peter Parker was anything but normal.

He saw Liz standing there in the middle of the dance floor, and with one look at his face she knew something was up.

"What did he say to you?" she demanded, and he only shook his head.

"I wish I could tell you, Liz," he said, "I'm sorry, you deserve better than this. You deserve better than me. You deserve someone who is a normal teenage boy who can take you to dances and live a normal life. But that's not me. I'm sorry."

Liz gave him a confused look, but he didn't stop to explain. Not when he knew nothing he could say would make this any better.

He ran out of the dance, knowing that eyes were on him, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. Instead, he ran down the halls, and lifted up a set of lockers where he'd hid his old suit. One from before Toni knew he was Spider-Man. One without all the cool gadgets he'd placed in it. But it was good enough for him then. And it would have to be good enough for him now.

He struggled to get the suit on, grateful that no one was around, and threw himself out a back door.

Only to be punched in the face with alien tech.

"He gave you a choice. You chose wrong," one of Mr Toomes' men said, clearly having expected him.

"Ah!" Peter yelled out in surprise, "What the hell?"

"What's with the crappy costume?" the man taunted him, and Peter didn't say a word. He could see the man loading up to fire another shot, as Peter searched for his gauntlets.

Man he really hated this outfit.

"My web-shooters," he mumbled, realizing they had fallen out of reach on the ground.

He stood up to run towards them, but the man hit a bus with his weapon, and threw it right at Peter. He groaned as he hit another bus and crashed to the ground as glass fell around him.

He kicked the web shooter away from Peter, before saying, "I wasn't sure about this thing at first, but damn."

Peter would have been impressed by the tech of it all, if it weren't currently being used to fight him. He was hit again with it, before he had time to recover, and crashed through the dashboard of a bus with enough impact to send him to the back. He looked up and spotted chewed up gum all over the seats and let out a disgusted sound.

"Gross," Peter said, as he tried to stand.

The man punched the bus again, sending it turning through the air, and Peter with it. He struggled to hold on, as the bus crashed on the ground. He pushed the doors open and fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

"Why did he send you here?" Peter asked.

"Guess you'll never know," the man smirked at him.

He powered up the weapon again, and Peter braced himself. But it never hit him.

Instead, he looked up and saw a web attached to the shocker gauntlet, and Net holding one of his web shooters.

"Nice shot!" Peter grinned, as Ned looked stunned. He grabbed the web which he had the upper hand and pulled his shooter in to web the man against the bus.

"Ned! The guy with the wings is Liz's dad!" Peter said quickly, and Ned looked shocked.

"What?" he asked, eyes widening.

"I know. I gotta tell Mom! She'll know what to do," Peter said, "Actually I gotta go after the man. Can you call Mom and let her know? She's moving weapons today and if Mr Toomes attacks, she won't be prepared."

"You want me to call Mrs Stark-Rogers?" Ned said, sounding dazed.

"Ned, snap out of it," he said, "It's not the time for this. Tell her I'm sorry and that I need to go after him. Ask if she and Dad can back me up. Oh and uh, get a computer to track my phone, I may have left it in his car so I know where he's going."

"Peter what the hell," Ned screamed after him, but it was too late. Peter had already taken off. He had a Vulture to catch.

With Peter off at his high school dance, Toni couldn't help but feel a sense of pride that her son was managing to have a normal teenage experience. So much of his life had been up in the air since the death of his aunt and uncle, and she hated to think how much of that was because she was his mother. Would his life have been a bit more normal without her?

Aside from the Spider-Man thing, which really, she was sure he would have been doing without her, but at least he wouldn't be in the spotlight as much as he was. He'd be able to walk down the street without people knowing his name or his story. He would be able to be just Peter.

She sighed as Happy handed her a clipboard.

"Can you take a look, Boss?" he said, and she smiled over at her friend. She knew he'd wanted more responsibility than just being her Head of Security and she was happy to give it to him. She knew he deserved it, and there was no one she trusted more. It was why she'd asked him to facilitate the moving of alien weapons she'd had in the Tower to the Avengers Compound upstate. She didn't want any of those weapons around, not when she knew her son or daughter would be born in a few short months. And while she trusted Peter to stay away from the tech, at least when it was in her own care, she knew a baby couldn't be expected to uphold the same levels of responsibilities.

So she'd asked him if he'd be able to move them out of her Tower. The sooner the better.

"Sure, Happy," she said, as she looked at the list, "How's the move going?"

"Got everything all packed up and ready to go," Happy grinned, "Need to do a second shipment though so I'll stay behind for when the jet gets back and make sure everything gets properly loaded up here. I don't want to leave anything behind so that the young one doesn't get hurt when they come along."

"I appreciate it," she smiled, "You deserve this promotion, Happy. As Head of Security for Stark Industries and the Avengers initiative, I know we can trust you to make sure things are running smoothly. A little too smoothly at times, maybe, but you get the job done."

"Gotta make sure no one gets hurt under my watch," Happy said, seriously, "You can never be too careful. Especially with weapons like this. Don't want them to get into the wrong hands and all."

"I agree," she said with a nod, "Not when we know that there are men out there on the street who wouldn't hesitate to sell them to the highest bidder. The last thing we need is for more tech on the streets. It's also why I want these out of the Tower. I'd rather people not try and break into this building for them. Not when there are so many employees here and Peter and the baby on the way."

"They wouldn't even get close if they tried," Happy promised her, "We'd catch them the minute they laid eyes on the building. I promise you that, Boss. You and your family will always be safe under my watch."

"It means a lot," she smiled at him, handing him back the clip board, as she initialed the bottom. She'd have preferred to use a tablet, but she knew the man liked paper and pens far more than any screen. So if it made his life easier, she was happy to oblige.

"Okay, well I'm going to send off this bird, and I'll let you know once the move is fully done," Happy told her with a nod. "Get some rest, Boss. You work far too hard."

"You know that there's no rest for the wicked," she laughed, "But I'll do my best. Peter's gonna be home in a few hours and I want to hear all about how his date went. He was so excited to take that girl to the dance, and I can't wait to hear how it went."

"He's a great kid," Happy said, before nodding and walking away.

She slipped off her heels as she walked to the kitchen and started boiling the kettle to make some decaf tea while she watched some reality show or the other for a few hours.

She'd just made her cup when the call came in. JARVIS informed her that it was a line identified as being from Peter's school, and she quickly asked him to connect the call in case something was wrong.

"Hello?" she asked, as JARVIS patched the call in.

"Mrs Stark-Rogers?" a frantic young voice came on from the other side of the line.

"Ned?" she asked in surprised, "What's wrong? Is Peter okay?"

"You need to come quick!" he said in a rushed voice, "He figured out the Vulture dude who kept trying to kill him is Liz's dad and he went after him. Said he needed to stop this. He asked me to call you and see if you and Mr Captain America could come help. He said to track his phone. I can send you the phone's coordinates. I gave him my phone so you should be able to track that. He was pretty beat up when he went, so I'm not sure if he's going to be okay! Please you need to do something!"

Liz's dad? Like his homecoming date?

His date to the dance was the same man who'd tried to kill her son and was after the alien tech in her care?

She stood up quickly, "JARVIS tell Steve we need to go. Call Rhodey too, tell him it's urgent and send Peter's coordinates. I want him there as quickly as possible," she said, "Ned, I'm going to need you to tell me everything."

Toni flew through the air, wishing for not the first time that her suit could go faster than it currently was. She was still a few minutes out from Peter's location. She was carrying Steve again, and her husband had been terrified when she told him everything they'd learned from Ned. That her son had stolen some car from a kid named Flash and was tracking his phone which he'd left in the backseat of her date's father's car who also happened to the Vulture.

The phone had made it's way to a factory, abandoned on the side of Queens, and she flew over it, gasping at what she saw.

"FRIDAY, are you sure Ned's phone is at this location?" she asked, as she felt panic seize her. Because below her was nothing but a crumbled factory, with rubble everywhere.

And if her son was there…

"The phone is still coming from that location," FRIDAY informed them both.

"Maybe he dropped the phone while he was fighting?" Steve said, as she landed them both.

"JARVIS scan for Peter," she instructed her suit, "See if there's anyone in there."

Because she had a really, really bad feeling about this.

"Hello!" she heard screaming, "Hello! Please. Hey, hey, please. I'm down here. I'm down here. I'm stuck. I'm stuck. I can't move. I can't..."

"Peter?" she yelled rushing forward and JARVIS zoomed in on his location, "Peter can you hear me?"

"Mom?" Peter said, sounding panicked, "Mom I'm stuck. Mom I can't…please, help me!"

She saw Rhodey land beside her, as an equal look of worry filled his face, "Peter we're here," Rhodey said.

"You need to go after the Vulture!" Peter said, "He can't get to that plane."

"We're not leaving you here," she said firmly, "Rhodey can you go track him? I'll get him out. Take Steve with you."

"I'm not leaving our son in here!" Steve said, hotly.

"I got him," she told him gently, "As much as I hate to admit this, Peter was right. Those weapons can't get into their hands. Not when we know what they want to do with them. I can get Peter out of here, the suit is strong enough. And I'll fly him to the Med Bay as soon as I do. But you need to stop them from getting to the plane."

"Peter, it's going to be okay," Steve said, sounding pained. "I love you, okay?"

She lifted her face plate and he pressed a kiss to her lips, before taking off with Rhodey.

"Peter focus on my voice," she told her son, "I'm going to get you out of there. Just stay calm, okay?"

Her son didn't say anything, and she had JARVIS scan for which pieces she could safely remove, as she began lifting off the rubble.

But then the entire base started to shift, and she felt her concern grow.

"JARVIS what's happening? She demanded.

"COME ON SPIDER-MAN," she heard her son yell, as the pieces of the building began to lift off where her son was. She saw a large piece of metal shift to the side as dust filled the air. And when it cleared, her son stood in the middle of it all.

Did he just?

She didn't question it more, as she immediately ran over to him.

"Peter, are you okay?" she asked, frantically, as she cupped his face and looked him over. JARVIS scanned his body for injuries, and she was displeased to learn of all the bruising his body had hid currently sprained ankle.

"Mom," he said, sounding relieved. He threw his arms around her, and she held him tightly, "You came."

"Of course I did," she told him in a serious tone, "Now, let's get you back to the Tower okay? I want to ask Dr Cho to look you over."

"No, I have to stop them from getting into the plane!" Peter said urgently, "They can't get those weapons! We need to stop them!"

"Your father and Rhodey are on it," she said firmly.

"No, you don't understand, their tech, it's really bad, Mom. We need to stop them!" Peter said, and she felt herself sighing.

Because wasn't that what she'd just told Steve? That they needed to get those weapons no matter what?"

"Fine," she said. "We'll go. But I want you to stay back, okay? You've been hurt and I can't risk anything else happening to you."

He nodded quickly, not wanting to push his luck, and she held onto her son firmly as she took off after the Vulture.

By time they caught up with the plane, she could see Steve attempting to pilot it, and Rhodey fighting outside with the Vulture.

She landed on top of the plane. "FRIDAY, I need you to try and get back into the systems, set the course back to the Compound," she said. "Dedicate all possessors available."

"On it," her youngest AI said.

"JARVIS, you with me?" she asked, as her son launched himself onto the Vulture by a web shooter.

Typical.

They would most definitely be having words when she got home.

"Always, Miss," JARVIS said, and she took off as well, joining the fight.

"Miss me, Platypus?" she asked, over the comms.

"I had this handled," he said nonchalantly. "Good to see Peter is doing okay."

"You know how kids are," she said, "They bounce back quickly."

The Vulture landed on the roof of the plane, and she swore, knowing she couldn't hit him without probably damaging the plane as well. Peter landed onto the roof, and tried to shoot the man with a web slinger, only for him to hit Peter backwards, and off the plane.

"Peter," she screamed out, as he held himself on by his webs.

The man dug himself into the plane, as he tore it apart, trying to hold on against the air current.

"MISS, the plane is losing altitude," FRIDAY said urgently, and she glanced at the cockpit where her husband was.

"Steve!" she screamed, "You need to get out of there."

"I'll be fine," he said, in a calm voice, "Grab Peter and get him to safety."

She felt fear in that moment, wondering if this plane crash would be what took her husband from her, but she knew now was not the time for such thoughts. Not when her son was in danger and her husband was stuck in the cockpit.

She could see the city approaching fast below them, and she flew below the plane, trying to steer it away from the crowded streets below.

Peter used his web shooters to turn the plane's wings to help her steer, and Rhodey came down to help her.

"We're not going to make it!" Peter yelled as the plane got dangerously low. Even with her and Rhodey's strength she knew it wasn't enough to hold the plane up. And it was coming down too quickly for drones to be deployed.

The Vulture, it seemed, was not deterred by the imminent crashing of the plane, as he continued to try and grab weapons out of the plane. Whoever this guy was, she was going to kick his ass when the ship landed.

As the plane grew closer to Coney Island, she flew away from the base and grabbed her son, pulling him from the plane.

"What about Dad?" Peter yelled out.

She looked to see the plane growing closer to the ground, as Rhodey flew into the plane and pulled Steve out of it just before it crashed.

"Thank Flemming," she breathed out, as the plane burst into flames.

"Did you get hurt?" she asked, as she landed with her son and looked him over for injuries, "More hurt?"

"I'm fine," he promised her, "My ears are ringing a bit though."

The Vulture swooped at them then, trying to catch the off guard, and she stood in front of her son to block him from getting hurt. She lifted a repulsor to blast the man out of the sky, but he easily dodged.

"Hey Pedro," The Vulture taunted, "Looks like you got your Mommy and Daddy to come save you. Now why couldn't you have just stayed at that dance? Now I need to kill you for hurting my daughter and trying to stop me."

"You're not touching him," Steve said, standing in front of Peter as he held his shield.

"Oh but Captain, this is between the two of us," Toomes taunted, "And I will have my revenge."

"I'd like to see you try," Peter said, as he launched himself into the air, and took a swing at the man. Toomes kicked Peter to the ground, and her son let out a groan.

He landed on her son, and she flew instantly, taking him up in the air with her.

"It's nice to fight someone on your own footing," he commented, "Land battles get oh so boring."

"Give it up, Toomes," she told him, "You're not going to win this. There are four of us against one of you. How do you think this is going to end?"

"With all of you dead, and the weapons in my hand," he hissed, "You made your fortune the same way, Stark. By selling weapons."

"To the Military," she snarled, "To help my country. Not to common thieves and villains."

Peter webbed himself up to Toomes, trying to pull him back to the ground, and she took the opportunity to shoot him with her repulsor. Rhodey rose into the air then as well, as the three of them launched their attacks.

She looked down as she saw a metal shield make its way through the air and damage the man's wings.

The man landed on the ground and seemed to spot a set of weapons that fell out of the plane. And instead of fighting them, he flew quickly towards it and grabbed it with his wings.

"Your wingsuit's going to explode," Peter said, eyes widening as the wingsuit glowed a bright blue. He raised his web shooters and tried to pull the box away from the man.

"Time to go home with your parents, Pete," Toomes taunted.

"I'm trying to save you!" Peter screamed, and she immediately knew what was going to happen. She threw Peter behind her, as Steve raised his shield and they braced for the explosion.

"NO!" Peter said, as the man went up in flames. He ran towards it and she knew she needed to go with him to stop anything from happening.

Steve and Peter struggled to lift boxes off the man, and Steve clapped Peter on the back as he carried the man who tried to kill him towards safety.

The man let out a wince, and she couldn't help but look at her son proudly, knowing that he'd saved him and countless others tonight with his decision to go after Toomes. She may not have agreed with him fighting crime, but he was a hero.

"Let's get you home, now, okay?" she said, as she looked over her son once more, "Rhodey, you and Happy can handle everything here, right?"

"We got this," Rhodey nodded at her, "You guys get Peter to medbay. I don't like how his ankle is looking. And his arm."

"Me neither," she said, eyeing her son.

"It's over," Peter said, sounding relieved.

"It is," she said, as she hugged him, "Never do that to me again okay? I don't think my heart can take it if I find you under another building like that again."

"Me neither," Steve said, as he wrapped his arms around them both, "I was so worried about you, Peter."

"I'm okay," he said, sounding tired.

"Let's get you home, okay?" she said, as she kissed his head, "You did amazing, Peter. Now let's get you looked at."

"Okay," he said, with a nod.

"You both go," Steve said, knowing she couldn't carry them both. And Peter was the one who needed more medical attention. "I'll catch a cab and meet you at the Tower."

She nodded, as she picked up Peter, and they flew towards the Tower.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you and tell you what was happening," Peter said, "Liz is going to be so mad at me. I fought her dad after standing her up. I don't know where we can go from there."

"You go forward," she told him gently, "But leave all the worrying til tomorrow, okay? You had a long day and need rest."

"Okay," he said, as she saw the Tower in sight.

Her son was a hero, and there would be a lot to deal with going forward. But for now, all that mattered was that he was safe.