"Peter. It's- you're gonna be fine." MJ put both her hands on the sides of Peter's face and gently turned his head away from the tv. She could see he was on the verge of a panic attack and hastily tried to calm him. "Look at me and only me."

Peter's eyes locked onto his girlfriend's beautiful face. He took in all of her features and perfect imperfections. He counted every single cute freckle on her nose in order to calm himself. Ned's hand found its way onto Peter's shoulder and he was grateful for it. He was so thankful that he had such wonderful friends.

"Are you… okay?" Ned asked once Peter's breathing had returned to normal.

"Y-yeah." He nodded jerkily. "Sorry 'bout that."

MJ shook her head. "You big dork; don't apologize for something that isn't your fault." She ran her hand through his curls.

"Sor- uh yeah." He pulled back and stood up. "I'm just gonna… head home."

MJ nodded silently, wrapping her arms around Peter's thin frame. Ned smiled sadly and joined the embrace. "Just call or text us if you need anything."

They had known Peter long enough to know that right now he needed the support of his dads. That he would feel better, safer, at home with his family.

Ned playfully punched the smaller teen's shoulder. "MJ and I will just get an Uber. We live like, five minutes from here so don't worry about us." He knew Peter - who was the most selfless person ever - would feel guilty about leaving so abruptly. So he tried to ease his friend's mind in any way he could. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." Peter mumbled, his shaky voice betrayed how scared he was.

With quick light steps, Peter sprinted back to the tower. A normal person would've reached Stark tower in no less than forty minutes if they sprinted the entire way. Peter arrived at the tower only five minutes after leaving Delmar's. On any other day he would have restrained himself from running at his full capacity; but with how vulnerable and hurt he was feeling, he made an exception.

"Hello Peter." Friday greeted once the avengers private elevator began to ascend. "I have alerted Boss and the team of your arrival."

Peter didn't have the breath to speak so he simply nodded, knowing Friday could see him through the camera hidden in the corner. He could tell that Friday knew what was going on; not because she had access to nearly every database, network and filing system on the planet, but because she sounded less snarky and much more subdued.

The elevator doors opened up on the penthouse floor, which was quiet except for two steady heartbeats. Dropping his backpack in the hallway by the elevator, Peter slowly walked into the living room. His heart lit up when he saw both his parents waiting for him.

"Hi Underoos." Tony murmured lovingly as Peter rushed over and threw his arms around the billionaire's waist. He could feel his shirt growing damp. "I've got you baby, it's okay."

Peter quietly sobbed into his dad's shoulder. Years of abuse had ingrained the idea into his mind that he was a burden, and he did not want to bother his parents. But the soft reassurances and gentle touches had him leaning into the comfort of the two pairs of arms holding him close.

He didn't want to admit how absolutely terrified he was. Rick had been worse than May but somehow he hadn't been convicted. And now… he was free.

Peter knew the man would eventually come after him. Rick was conniving, sneaky and ruthless; not to mention he was chief of police. He had the influence, manpower and lots of military grade weapons on his side. It would only be a matter of time before Rick made his first move.

Bruce moved Peter's bangs aside and kissed his forehead, one hand massaging the teen's shoulder. When his son's cries had turned to quiet whimpers he suggested, "how 'bout we go sit down in the living room, watch some tv? Try to calm down a bit." Bruce was not about to ignore what was going on, no way in hell. But he did not want Peter to hyper focus on the negatives.

Like Tony, Peter would get so lost in his mind and the what if's, that he wouldn't be able to eat, sleep or focus on anything but the problem at hand. So he elected to distract the teen; something that wouldn't last long, granted. But it was better than having Peter dive head first into a panic attack. It was already disappointing that the little party they'd been planning for Peter had to be rescheduled.

"Sounds like a good idea honey." Tony squeezed his husband's hand - realizing the scientist's usual technique. He then scooped Peter up, carrying him bridal style.

Even at Peter's ideal weight of 100 pounds he was still incredibly easy to lift. Tony often joked that he could bench press more than what Peter weighed - which he could.

He sat down on the soft grey couch in front of the large flatscreen tv with Peter on his lap and Bruce to his right with Peter's legs across his lap. The family often did this after a long day of work, school and training. They liked the comfort of being close to each other and the privacy the penthouse gave them.

Half way through one of Bruce's favorite tv shows, mysteries at the museum, Peter was asleep.

The heavenly smell of bacon and French toast roused Peter from his - surprisingly good - sleep. He looked around lazily and noticed that he was in his bedroom. Dad must've carried me, he thought. His alarm clock read 6:15 which was an hour before he needed to be at school.

"Good morning Peter." Friday greeted him happily. "Boss and Dr Banner are in the kitchen preparing breakfast and said you could join them whenever you are ready."

"Thanks Friday." Tossing the duvet off of himself he quickly went about showering and getting changed. After thoroughly scrubbing his body and washing his hair he pulled on a pair of jeans and one of his science pun t-shirts.

Friday interrupted Peter's search for his backpack by saying, "Boss moved your backpack to the living room."

"Oh, yeah. I left it in the hall last night. Tell dad I said thanks."

"Of course."

His stomach growled embarrassingly loud when he reached the kitchen, reminding him that he hadn't eaten dinner last night. He smiled at his parents sitting at the large granite island in the middle of the kitchen. "Morning mom. Morning dad."

Tony smiled and wrapped his arms around Peter once he was close enough. "You feelin' okay bambino? You slept for ten straight hours."

"M'fine." He mumbled, pulling away so he could give his mom a hug. "I feel rested so-" his stomach growled again. This time sending a sharp cramp through his abdomen. "And really hungry. Sorry."

Bruce - truly a mother hen - sat Peter down and immediately pulled a plate together, piled high with buttery French toast and bacon.

Peter liked to do just about everything for himself but Bruce wanted to make this morning easier for him. "You don't need to apologize for being hungry Peter." He chastised gently, knowing that Peter often fell back into old habits when he was nervous or had a lot on his mind. "You shouldn't skip any meals, ever. Last night was an exception but we won't be having a repeat."

"Yes mom." Peter responded between large bites of food, his hunger not diminishing. "This is really good. Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Bruce sat back down and sipped his coffee. "Tony made everything." He said proudly.

"Really?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't sound so surprised Pete. Your appetite is as big as Thor's. I had to learn sometime. Besides, you're still growing and according to Helen and mamma bear over here," he gestured to Bruce, "I can't feed you take out all the time."

"I'm five foot eight and a half inches dad," Peter deadpanned. "I don't think I'm going to grow much more."

"You never know." Bruce reached across the table to ruffle Peter's hair. "Besides, we just want you to be healthy."

Peter smiled, grateful for the amazing family he had. "I know."

Only minutes after Peter left for school Tony called an avengers meeting to discuss the recent events of Rick's release. He and Bruce were waiting in the team's conference room when Happy texted him, letting him know Peter had gotten to school safe.

Happy always drove Peter to and from school, but Tony had two of his iron man suits trailing them and four positioned inconspicuously around Midtown tech. He was not taking any chances when his son's safety was involved. The team and Happy had wholeheartedly agreed. It's only temporary, Tony convinced himself. At least he dearly hoped so.

"I saw the news." Natasha started the minute everyone - minus Rhodey who was in DC for the week - had sat down. "There's at least five dozen ways I can kill him. I just need pliers, jumper cables and a toothbrush."

"I agree with Natasha." Thor nodded enthusiastically, his hammer held high. "From what I've been told, this Donavon is truly the worst scum in this universe. I will see what Strange can do about other Donavons within the multiverse."

"Thor no." Steve sighed. "We can't access other universes, only dimensions and planets within our Galaxy. You know this… you're just upset."

The god huffed, his lips pulled into a pout. "I know."

"And Natasha," Steve laid a hand on her shoulder, "we can't just-"

Scott's eyes grew as big as dinner plates when he fully processed what the spy had said. "I mean… I'm all for it, but what's the toothbrush for?"

Natasha smiled wickedly, her mood already darkened. "Would you like to find out?"

"Nobody's killing anyone alright." Steve said firmly. "I know we're all upset right now but we can't afford to do anything rash. Understand?" Everyone nodded, knowing that Steve was right. "We just gotta take this one step at a time. See how things play out."

"Are you suggesting we sit back and do nothing?" Tony looked at the captain incredulously. "My kid could be in danger and you don't want us to do anything about it!"

"That's not what I meant Tony."

"Then what do you mean?" Bruce asked, glaring at Steve.

"We need to gather as much information as we can on Donavon; in regards to Peter or not. We find out who his lawyer is, which judge pardoned him and so on."

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "I already have most of that info. Friday and I looked over everything last night. Pepper said she'd pull a few strings; try to find some things out too."

"Good. Then our main priority is keeping up to date with Donavon's plans and agenda as chief. But we have to lay low." Steve sat back and crossed his arms. "He knew you were Peter's father," he looked to Tony, "therefore there's a good chance that he knows Peter lives here."

"What's concerning, is that he didn't already tell the world about Tony's secret son." Clint added. "He could've sold that story for a lot of money."

"So why didn't he then?" Tony yelled. "Why hold that juicy bit of information? There was no guarantee he was going to be released."

Steve rubbed his chin in thought. "That's what concerns me. It's almost like…"

"He was planning this." Bruce finished, his hand locked around his husband's.

Steve nodded. "Exactly."

"That still doesn't answer my question." Tony squeezed Bruce's hand.

"As hard as this is going to be to hear," Steve began, "I don't think we should do anything until we have more information." The billionaire opened his mouth to interrupt but Steve cut him off. "On his last patrol, didn't Peter stop a double decker bus going ninety with his bare hands?"

"Yeah."

"As much as I don't like Peter going out and putting himself in danger," he sighed, "it's reassuring to know the kid is capable. Peter is an extremely intelligent, brave and resilient kid. But we don't know Rick's agenda. Because if we aren't careful with how we go about this… Peter's going to be the one to suffer."

The team sat in silence, the captain's words settling over them. It was Friday who interrupted them.

"Boss, there's an incoming call from T'Challa. He wishes to speak with you."

Tony groaned. "Redirect the call to my lab, I'll be right up."

"Of course Boss."

He placed a quick kiss on Bruce's lips and stood to leave. Natasha's determined voice stopped him.

"We will do all we can to protect Peter. That's a promise Tony."

The billionaire nodded, knowing full well that things were going to get messy and having a team he could rely on - and who absolutely adored his son - would be invaluable.

The talk with T'Challa ran longer than Tony had expected. Not that he minded. T'Challa was a gentleman and Wakanda was a safe haven for the team. After discussing the vibranium tech - that was gifted exclusively to Tony to aid in the enhancement of avengers tech, as well as the X-men's in part of the avengers unity squad - it was almost one p.m.

"There's one more thing I need to ask of you Mr Stark." T'Challa said, his form appearing on a hologram in Tony's lab.

"Whatever you need your highness." Tony smirked. "Are you and Shuri planning to visit New York? I know Pete would love to nerd out with Shuri again."

The king chuckled, "no Stark. As nice as a visit would be, that is not what I'm referring to." He paused as if hesitating. "The captain's comrade, Sergeant Barnes, has been completely rehabilitated. He's ready to return."

"Huh." Tony schooled his expression and shrugged, trying to appear calm. "Is that so?"

"If you would like him to remain in Wakanda that's perfectly fine. You and your family are always welcome here."

"I appreciate that, truly." And he really did mean it. Having an alliance with Wakanda was opulent. "But for the record," Tony ground out through clenched teeth, "Barnes is not a part of my family. You can send him here but with all the trouble he's caused... there's no guarantee I won't kill him."