moondusted-ao3

[moondusted-ao3]

Whumptober Day 4 - Hallucinations

This is my post for Day 4 of Whumptober 2024 - Hallucinations, Sensory Deprivation

"Of course. The walls of the cell were completely soundproof. How could Peter have forgotten that? A bomb could go off outside, and he would have no idea. Being without his sight or hearing must be taking a toll on him if he was starting to hallucinate already. Peter curled back into a ball, shaking with silent sobs. He'd been through worse; he wasn't even being tortured yet. Not really. He just had to hold on until his family got here. He just had to hold on."

Ao3 Link

Warnings: None

Fandom: Marvel (Spider-Man)

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Word Count: 2659

     Peter Parker sat in the corner of the cell, arms wrapped around his legs, eyes straining to see in the pitch blackness. It felt like he'd been in this cell for months, but it must have only been hours. Everything was pitch black, and the room was soundproofed even to his enhanced senses. The walls were padded with some kind of fabric that absorbed any sound he made, and the room was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.

     There was nothing to do except sit with his thoughts, and he passed the time by imagining the Avengers coming to save him. If he closed his eyes, he could almost see Mr. Stark now, blasting down the door with his repulsor and swooping in to be the hero. Actually… Peter strained his ears, trying to hear the faintest sound outside the soundproofed walls.

     Was that the sound of a repulsor in the distance? The longer he listened, the more sure he was that he could hear the sounds of fighting outside the door. If he focused, he could almost see the edges of the cell shaking. Help was coming; the Avengers were here! They must be about to break down the door! Peter knew it wouldn't be long before his mentor realized he was missing and came to get him. Footsteps echoed in his ears, heavy metal boots stomping down the hallway. They came to his door and… stopped. No matter how hard he strained, he couldn't hear a sound. Not even the faintest hum.

     Of course. The walls of the cell were completely soundproof. How could Peter have forgotten that? A bomb could go off outside, and he would have no idea. Being without his sight or hearing must be taking a toll on him if he was starting to hallucinate already. Peter curled back into a ball, shaking with silent sobs. He'd been through worse; he wasn't even being tortured yet. Not really. He just had to hold on until his family got here. He just had to hold on.

     Peter was walking home from school when his Spider-Sense pinged danger nearby. When he subtly glanced around, his eyes caught on two men in black suits on the other side of the street. One of the men made eye contact with him and frowned, leaning to mutter something into his partner's ear. Whatever these men wanted, his Spider-Sense knew it wouldn't be good. Luckily, he'd been taking "spy lessons" with Natasha and Clint. Those lessons were paying off now, he'd been taught how to lose a tail.

     Thinking fast, he quickly ducked into a crowd of people walking in front of him, slipping through them with a polite "Excuse me." as he nudged past. The moment he lost sight of the men, he ducked into an alley and pressed against the wall. The two men in suits walked by the opening a few moments later, angrily looking around. He pushed himself tighter to the wall as they looked down the alley. Frozen in fear, he held his breath until the men walked by, sighing in relief when they disappeared.

     A few moments passed before he could convince his feet to move and start back towards the street. His Spider-Sense pinged again, and something sharp dug into his neck. He quickly reached up and pulled out… a dart? It must have been drugged, his vision began darkening around the edges and a bout of vertigo almost knocked him off his feet. He tried to make a break for the exit to the alley, but his knees buckled before he could take a single step. A woman stepped out of the shadows, gait confident as she strode towards him. The darkness in his vision grew rapidly, but he faintly heard her say "Target acquired, bringing it in now." before he slipped into unconsciousness.

     Out of sheer boredom (and stress), Peter had taken to literally climbing the walls. Pacing laps around the floors, the walls, and the ceiling, counting his steps, was pretty much his only form of entertainment. Twenty steps to each wall, seven to touch the roof. The auditory hallucinations hadn't stopped, and his hopes were constantly rising with the sounds of distant repulsor blasts, only to be shattered when reality kicked in.

     What must have only been a few days of captivity felt like years. Years of no light, no sound, no interaction with any living thing. The door hadn't opened since he'd been thrown in here, and the lack of food and water was beginning to take a toll. His muscles were weakening by the minute, and his enhanced metabolism was acting against him. Usually, he would eat almost three times the amount of food a baseline human consumed and still be hungry. Now, with nothing else to eat, his stomach felt like it was planning on consuming itself.

     Peter sighed and dropped from the ceiling, carefully walking to the corner of the room, one arm extended to feel the soft padding of the walls in the darkness. Collapsing to the floor, he decided it was time to get some sleep. As he slowly drifted off to sleep, he did his best to ignore the sound of clanging metal and fighting outside his door. Logically, he knew it was just another hallucination, if only someone could tell that to his heart.

     Splinters flew across the room as the door burst open. Startled awake, eyes wide and heart hammering, Peter's eyes flew to the door. The light flooding in from the hallway blinded him briefly, and he had to squint to make out the form standing in the doorway. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the silhouette of Iron Man illuminated. "Mr. Stark?" His throat was dry and his voice cracked from disuse.

     "Hey, kid." The armor spoke. Peter sobbed, throwing himself towards his mentor with tears in his eyes. "Mr. Stark! You came! You reall-" Peter slammed into the wall, bouncing back and landing hard on the ground. Utterly confused and heartbroken, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Pitch blackness surrounded him, the wall unbroken. Peter screamed, sobbing and wailing into the dark, his cries muffled by the soundproof walls. "Please, please come get me." he pleaded as unconsciousness claimed him again.

     Peter blinked awake, wincing against his pounding headache. Icy fear ran through him when he realized he couldn't move, his arms and legs restrained to a chair with thick metal cuffs. No matter how hard Peter strained, his enhanced strength couldn't break the cuffs. Giving up on the restraints for the moment and attempting to distract himself from impeding panic, he scanned the room.

     The walls around him were stark white, tables covered what looked like medical equipment and papers scattered around, and screens next to him that looked like they were showing scans of his body. His shirt was missing, and several electrodes had been attached to his chest, wires leading to machines nearby. As he turned his head, he could feel wires tugging from even more electrodes attached to his forehead. Craning his neck, he could barely see tall metal claws that reached up and supported what looked like a giant metal circle.

     Just as the panic began to take hold, the door in front of him opened. Several people in white coats walked in, a familiar woman leading the group. It was the same woman who had shot him with the drugged darts in the alley. She wore the same white coat as the others, and as he looked her over, he saw a small pin on her collar. A small circle pin with a skull and tentacles. Hydra. Fear flooded his body, adrenaline making his hands shake. She smirked. "Hello, Spiderman."

     They knew his secret identity. A sense of impending doom set in, and he took a deep breath to attempt to calm his racing heart. Surely Mr. Stark would realize he was missing soon and come find him. He just had to stall. Licking his dry lips, he put on a mockingly cheerful grin. "Me? Spiderman? I'm flattered, but I think you have the wrong guy."

     "Snarky, aren't you? Just like your father." Did these people know his father? Peter's confusion must have shown on his face, because the woman sighed. She picked up a folder off a table, opened it up, and showed him the contents. It was full of pictures of him and Mr. Stark. There were pictures of them at a restaurant, one of him ruffling Peter's hair, and even a picture of them working on the Iron Man suit in Mr. Stark's private labs. "My dad? You've got it all wrong. I'm just his intern. I'm not even sure he remembers my name."

     She sighed, closing the folder. "Lying to us is a very bad idea, Mr. Parker. You'll learn that soon enough. We have big plans for you." She gestured to the men, who began messing with the machines beside him. Peter's heart felt like it was beating out of his chest, and his hands began to shake. "W-what are you doing?"

     The woman smiled. "We're going to make you better. You're going to be our perfect weapon. And then, you're going to kill the Avengers." The men pressed buttons on their machines, and the metal ring descended to clamp on his head. Peter opened his mouth to try and stall, but all that came out was a scream as a shock of electricity burned through his skull. Pure agony coursed through his entire body as he seized and shook, clenching his jaw to stop himself from screaming. The machine paused for a brief moment and he gasped for air before it started up again. All thoughts fled his mind; all he could feel was pain. It continued for what felt like hours but could have only been minutes, streams of electricity flooding him in bursts. When it finally stopped, all Peter could do was heave for air. He shook his head to try and clear the fog that had settled in.

     "How are the readings?" The doctor asked, stepping closer to look at the screens. She frowned at whatever she saw. One of the men stepped forward, angling his screen so she could see. "His healing power is extraordinary. His brain is healing almost as fast as we can erase it. It must be double the Winter Soldier's. The machine isn't going to work, not without increasing the electricity, which could kill him."

     Sighing, the woman turned to look at Peter, slumped in his chair. "You will obey us, one way or another." Peter lifted his chin and looked her in the eyes in defiance. Coughing, his voice hoarse from his screams, he rasped "I'll die first."

     "No, little spider, you won't. But you'll be begging for death when I'm done with you." Turning back to the men, she gestured towards Peter. "Throw him in the pit. Maybe some time in the dark will soften him up." Peter fought as they uncuffed him, struggling as best he could, but the aftershocks of the electricity still coursed through him. Helpless, he allowed himself to be dragged away.

     Peter was huddled in the corner, hands pressed so tightly over his ears that it began to hurt. The sounds of fighting echoed inside his head. Every repulsor blast made his heart jump in hope, but they were never real. Visual hallucinations were becoming more and more common. Mr. Stark bursting into his cell to save him was a regular hallucination, and he broke a little bit more every time it appeared.

     Every time he saw Iron Man break down the door, Peter would run to him, sobbing, and every time, Mr. Stark would disappear right as Peter jumped into his arms. If his captors opened the door right now, he would fall to his knees and beg them for any interaction at all. Torture would be better than this. He didn't know how much more he could take. How many times he could fling himself into his mentor's arms, only to have him taken away again. He was so dehydrated he couldn't even cry, only dry sobs escaping him.

     Outside the walls, the faintest sounds of fighting echoed. Gunfire sounded, making Peter flinch and press his hands even harder over his ears. He rocked back and forth, muttering, "It isn't real, it isn't real, it isn't real."The door burst open again, the silhouette of Iron Man once again burning itself into his retinas. Sobbing louder, Peter closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his legs. He buried his face in his knees, trying his best to ignore the footsteps approaching him.

     "Hey, kid." Peter couldn't stop himself from looking up at the sound of Mr. Stark's voice. Even though, logically, he knew this wasn't real, he couldn't stop himself from wishing. He couldn't stop himself from hoping. And every time he finally let his guard down and allowed himself to believe that this time, it was real, the hallucination ended.

     "Are you alright? Peter? Are you hurt?" Mr. Stark's voice sounded frantic as he stepped out of the armor, reaching out. Peter flinched, throwing himself away from his mentor. "Don't touch me! Please, please don't touch me. I don't want you to go. I don't want to be alone anymore." He sobbed, voice dry and hoarse from disuse. His eyes were wide, and he couldn't stop staring at the man. He knew that the moment he looked away, Mr. Stark would disappear, and he would be alone in the dark.

     "Kid, we're here to get you out. I'm sorry we took so long. You're not alone anymore. We're gonna take you home. " Mr. Stark's voice was thick with emotion, quiet and calm as if speaking to a wounded animal. "I promise you're safe now."

     Sobbing, Peter closed his eyes. "I keep seeing you coming to get me. Over and over and over I keep seeing you save me, and it isn't real. It's never real. I want to go home!" Peter shouted, hugging himself. "I just wanna go home…"

     "I'm real, Peter. I promise I'm real. I'm here." Slowly reaching toward Peter, he gently whispered reassurance as he stepped closer. "It's okay. I'm here to take you home." Peter's face was filled with resignation and despair as he watched Mr. Stark's hand descend. It looked like he was watching his incoming death, not his mentor coming to save him. He closed his eyes as Mr. Stark stepped closer, not wanting to see him disappear again.

     He gasped when the man's hand met his shoulder, incredibly warm against his freezing skin. "Mr. Stark?" He breathed, eyes opening wide and filling with hope. His mentor just nodded, and Peter lept from the floor, wrapping himself around Mr. Stark and burying his head in his shoulder. He shook with silent, dry sobs, and his mentor just held him tighter. They stood there for what seemed like hours, only interrupted when Captain America's voice echoed out of the Iron Man suit. 

     "You have the kid, Stark? We're getting swamped up here!" Mr. Stark started to move, and Peter panicked and held even tighter. "We gotta go, Underoos. I'm not leaving you, I promise. I'll never leave again." Peter flinched but nodded and slowly let go of Mr. Stark, terrified that he would disappear. His heart almost stopped when he let go, and it felt like time stood still for a moment until he realized that his mentor was still there and grinned.

     "Alright, let's blow this popsicle stand." Mr. Stark grinned back, stepping into his suit and heading to the door, checking behind him to make sure Peter was still following. It was as if the weight of the sky left Peter's shoulders the moment his feet hit the hallway, and the sheer force of his relief could have moved mountains. Finally, he was going home.

Thank you so much for reading!! Please let me know what you thought :D