Peter Parker's Arc

Chapter 6 of 7

Callie didn't slow down. She led Peter into the tower and up to the workshop where her father built his suits. Tony Stark stood at a table, sleeves rolled, a half-built gauntlet in his hands. He looked up. His face went still when he saw his daughter's eyes. They were clear. They knew. "You took him," Callie said. "You reached into my head and cut him out." Tony set the gauntlet down. "Callie." "Don't." Her voice climbed. "I wore his sweatshirt and didn't know why. I kept a dragon I couldn't explain. You watched me fall apart and said nothing." Her hands shook. "You're my father. You did this to me." "There were people who would have used you to get to me," Tony said. "Erasing him made you invisible to them. It kept you alive." "So you decided. Alone." She stepped toward him. Something cracked in her face, half grief, half rage. "I hate—" Peter moved between them. He put a hand on Callie's shoulder and turned to face Tony. "He's not lying about the danger," Peter said. "There were men hunting you through me. The spell hid you." He swallowed. "But that's not why it took so long to give you back. They weren't sure your mind could take the memories returning. They thought it might break something in you. That's the part he was scared of." Callie looked between them. "You knew too," she said to Peter. "You let me think I was broken." "I did." Peter's voice dropped. "I thought staying away was protecting you. I was wrong. I'm sorry. I should have found you sooner." The room went quiet. Tony wiped his hands on a rag he didn't need to wipe. He looked older than his suit ever let him look. "I should have told you," Tony said. "When you started keeping that dragon, I should have told you." He didn't pivot. He didn't joke. "I thought if I explained it, you'd blame me. You'd be right. I'm sorry, Callie. I did it out of fear, not permission. That's still on me." Callie stared at her father. Her jaw worked. The rage held for one more second, then it left her all at once. She didn't hug him. She wasn't ready for that. But she nodded, small and shaking. Then she turned to Peter and pressed her face into his chest. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt. Her whole body shook against him. "You're real," she said into him. "You stayed real." Peter held her. Over her shoulder, he met Tony's eyes. Tony gave him one slow nod. Not approval. Something quieter. A door opening. The family hadn't shattered. But something had shifted for good. Tony's rule was dead. Callie remembered everything now, and she had chosen where to stand. She stood with Peter. The gatekeeper had stepped aside, and Peter no longer had to reach her in secret.