Peter and Tony rushed into the medical room in the compound, J.D on a wheelie bed, another oxygen mask helping her breathe.

"How's she even alive?" Peter asked, glancing down at the J.D. "She's lost way too much blood to even be breathing."

"She's a superhero." Was all Tony said, pressing a few buttons to summon the paramedics that were on site.

The pair could only watch as J.D's bandages were unraveled, revealing scars and wounds that made them sick to their stomachs. It was heartbreaking seeing the doctors bring her back to consciousness, injecting chemicals into her system and taking other chemicals out.

Neither of them spared a thought to the girl's twin brother, who was nowhere in sight.

+++

THE TEENAGE BOY LIMPED DOWN THE STREET, a forlorn expression adorning his face. He was utterly exhausted, he just wanted to find his way home.

The streets were a lot scarier at night to Mason Purnell. If he was out late with his friends or family he was fine, but when he was unaccompanied it was completely different. He was visibly trembling as he stumbled down the pavement, his feet dragging and vision blurry.

The squeal of tires nearly made him jump out of his skin and his bottom lip quivered as he pulled his sweater closer to his body in an attempt to maintain his already low body heat.

He barely recognised anything in the dark world, it seemed almost evil and untrustworthy. He felt alone, and he absolutely hated it.

He was so mad at himself for not charging his phone, and pay phones were scarce in the suburb he happened to be in. There weren't many stores that were open at that hour, and he didn't know how far he was from home.

Mason exhaled in relief when he saw a bus stop by the road. He forced himself to move towards it, but paused mid-step when he heard a faint whining.

He turned slightly, looking down to see a dirty puppy about a metre away from him. Mason furrowed his eyebrows. Had it been following him? He hadn't heard anything. Noticing the attention it was receiving, the animal looked up with wide eyes and released a yawn.

Mason couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his lips for a split second. "You lost too?"

The puppy didn't reply, it only sat down and watched him, tilting its head ever so slightly in confusion. Mason saw how thin it was, and how sad it seemed.

With a sigh, he leaned down a bit and opened his arms. "Come on then."

The puppy let out a raspy bark and trotted over, allowing Mason to pick it up.

Walking over to the bus stop, Mason held the dog in one hand and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone where a ten dollar bill sat. It was his emergency cash, he had never gotten the chance to use it until now.

The puppy snuggled into his side, and Mason placed his phone back and adjusted his arms so the dog was comfortable. "You're a cute one."

The puppy responded with another yawn, and Mason pursed his lips. It didn't have a collar, and he didn't even know what gender or colour it was, its fur was all dirty.

"Excuse me." He muttered politely, before lifting up its leg. "A girl. Maybe Herb will let me keep you."

The pup let out a soft huff, and Mason glanced down to see the animal fast asleep in his arms. Its head was tucked into his elbow and its small body was curled up. "What's your name? Can I give you one? Maybe I should, you can't understand me anyway."

He leaned back in the seat, racking his head for possible names.

His mind wandered to his sister. Maybe he could name the dog in her sake.

Maybe something a sweet? A Disney character, possibly.

The first character that popped into his head was Simba, but that wasn't the best of names for a dog.

Mason thought of J.D's favourite Disney princess.

How about Belle?

Mason smiled to himself. Belle. French for beauty, and the character was intelligent and strong, as well as charming and loving. As he looked at the puppy, he knew.

Belle.

He held her close to his body as the bus rolled up, and he stepped on, ignoring the look he received from the driver. He knew it was strange for a teenage boy to be holding a puppy and catching a bus this late at night, but he had no other choice.

As he reclined in the cushioned seat, he ran his fingers through Belle's dirty fur. He decided that as soon as he got home he would feed and wash her, then take her to the vet in the morning. He knew there was a chance that he wouldn't be able to keep her, but he wasn't going to give her up easily. If she was this malnourished and dirty she couldn't have just gotten lost, she might have been abandoned or starved.

Mason smiled at his new friend. If he couldn't protect his sister, he would protect Belle.

+++

Herb wasn't home when Mason arrived. The teen sighed, saddened by his uncle's obliviousness to the situation. As far as he was concerned, J.D was with Michelle and Mason was with Peter. He had no idea that J.D was with Tony Stark and he was adopting a puppy.

Mason cradled Belle in his arm as he kicked the door shut, locking it and walking into the kitchen. He set her down on the counter and put the plug in the sink, turning the tap on. He then walked over to the fridge and pulled out some bacon.

At the sound of the water running and the smell of the crisp meat, Belle awoke. She shakily stood up and stuck her nose in the air, curious as to what was happening. Her tail began wagging in excitement as she sensed food, and let out a weak bark as Mason walked over with a plate of bacon and a plastic bowl of water.

Mason turned the tap off to let the water cool down and placed the chopped up meat in front of the puppy. Belle instantly dove in, chomping down and going for more like there was no tomorrow. Since he had cut it into small square, she easily consumed it. She gulped down water like she had never seen it before, and her eyes began to brighten. When there was one piece left, she howled slightly and Mason laughed. She was using her nose to attempt to push the bacon over to him. He picked it up and ripped a tiny bit off for him, and put the rest near her mouth so she'd eat it.

He then proceeded to pick her up and put her in the lukewarm water. He smiled sadly at the dirt that rose to the top from her body, and reached for some liquid soap. He began scrubbing her small body gently, all while making sure she was comfortable. He was shocked to see that under all the grime, there was golden fur peeking through.

Belle seemed to enjoy being clean again, and lifted her head up to try and lick Mason's face. Mason giggled and pressed his lips to her now washed head and pulled her out.

The door unlocked and Mason turned around, holding Belle to his chest. His sweater was getting damp from her fur, but he was still on edge.

"Mason? I thought you were at Peter's?" Herb's gruff voice spoke and Mason let out a breath of relief.

"Oh, I came home early." The teen replied and Herb nodded, before his eyes rested on Belle.

"Um, what?" The middle-aged man asked, pointing to the puppy. Mason sheepishly grinned.

"I found her on the street." He responded, looking down at her, his eyes filled with love. "Her name's Belle."

"You named it?" Herb asked, placing his keys on the bench and walking over. "You aren't keeping it."

"Her." Mason said defensively. "And why not? No one else seemed to want her when she came to me on the street."

"Who's gonna look after her?" Herb queried, bending down to the drawer and pulling out a tea towel. He handed it to Mason, who placed Belle on the bench and began to dry her. "You guys are at school and I'm at work."

"There's still a month and a half left of summer." Mason insisted. "I'll train her..a-and I'll walk her everyday and when we're at school we can drop her off to the doggy day care a block from the building. It'll all work out."

"And how do you think we'll be able to afford to raise her?" Herb folded his arms, his eyes trained on his nephew. "Dogs cost a lot of money."

"I have money from my birthday and christmas." Mason shot back. Then, he sighed and looked down at the ground. "I really want to keep her, Herb. She needs me."

"It's a dog." Herb argued.

"She's my dog." Mason grumbled.

He pulled back the tea towel, and Belle peeped through. Her wide brown eyes laid on Herb, and she let out an excited whine. Herb looked at her and sighed. "She's cute."

"I know." Mason grinned. Herb watched the teenager carefully. He truly seemed happy. He had seemed a little dull lately, and Herb could only assume J.D had something to do with it. He was definitely the more optimistic one of the pair, so seeing him so down was out of the ordinary. "She reminds me of Ma's dog."

Herb chucked. "Piper? Damn, I'm surprised you still remember that whelp."

Mason rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. We had her til I was seven. She looked almost exactly like Belle, only brown."

"Seems Cocker Spaniels have a thing for you, then?" Herb teased, and patted his nephews shoulder. "Put some newspapers down in your room for the night, we'll figure this out tomorrow."

Mason nodded and Herb tiredly smiled, before retreating to his bedroom for the night. Looking down at Belle, he stroked her head and sighed.

At least there was one good thing that came out of the day.

SHIT FAM TWO UPDATES IN OME DAY YO

ALSO YAY MASON GOT A PUPPY AND IS HAPPY THIS IS ALL I WANT FOR HIM I LOVE HIM SOMUCH

THIS BOY DESERVES SO MUCH OHMYGOODNESS