Miami, Florida:
I looked down at the upcoming mansion right below us. Tony and his suits were floating right behind me, it was the middle of the night, though the lights of his and his suits boosters made us clearly visible.
Meaning, every single soldier inside the mansion came running out with guns pointed right at us.
"So...maybe we shouldn't have arrived in a flying car with sixteen flying suits behind us," I said as I stood up on the roof of my car, cracking my knuckles.
"Maybe, but subtly is more of Natasha's thing anyway," Tony replied, "now, we have 30 hostiles with semi automatics. How do you want to do this?"
"With maximum effort," I replied before leaping forward and activating my repulsors, blasting into the main court yard where the men were all gathering.
"Here's web in your eye!" I took out several web grenades and throw it at the gathering men. The cartridge exploded, fixing them all together in one great lump. My spider sense kicks in, immediately I jumped, just in time to avoid a hail of bullets.
I landed behind the gunners and kicked their legs out before punching their light's out. Tony then swooped down and began destroying people left and right, blowing people away in moments. We were almost done with the court yard when I was hit with a huge wave of danger coming from my spider sense.
"TONY!" I cried out, running to him, "we need to go!"
"What? Why?" Tony asked as I jumped into his arm, the man catching me automatically.
"Just fly up as fast as you can!" I cried out and in a moment he complied, shooting into the air. And as we reached a height of fifty feet, the ground below us rumbled loudly.
BOOM!
Tony and I was blasted upwards from the force of explosion, the heat burning my feet and a portion of my lower back. I went flying through the air along with Tony. One of his armour came in and caught us both, floating far away from the mansion.
I shock my head slowly and looked down, the entire Miami mansion had been totaled, the men there...they were all gone. I looked down, my shin and lower back armour had been burnt off. A layer of my skin had all gotten burnt, but my healing factor was already healing it.
I turned to Tony, who slowly managed to fly by himself, shaking his head, "are you okay Spider?"
"I'm fine," my ear started to ache, I think they got damaged from the explosion.
"How did you know?" Tony asked.
"I have a sixth sense that informs me of danger before it happens," I groaned, "and right then it gave me a big ass warning." I reached around and fired my webbing at my exposed back, covering it from the exposed air. It wasn't a proper fix, but it would do for now.
"I see," Tony looked at the fire, "why did they burn it all?"
"Maybe because they didn't need it anymore?" I suggested.
"They would kill their own men?" Tony growled, "monsters."
"We need to find where they are," I told him, "no way they killed everyone. The Mandarin is still alive and so is Aldrich. Sexy, JARVIS, does the net say anything about their whereabouts?"
"Sorry Spider, I got nothing," Sexy replied.
"Same sir, but there is new information about the Mandarin," JARVIS replied.
"Summarize for me JARVIS" Tony ordered.
"A new video he broadcasted, where he killed an American citizen on live TV. He had the president call him to beg for his life, but ended up killing the man either way."
"Damn it," I hissed, "did he say what he was going to do next?"
"I'm sorry sir, but no," JARVIS replied.
"So we have no idea what the Mandarin or Aldrich is going to do next," Tony hissed.
I blinked, now was my chance, let's see if I can explain their freely or my condition limits the information I'm allowed to give out.
"Actually, I think we do," I told Tony, "the Mandarin has been building up to something, right? A master plan? A great end goal?"
"Yeah, and?" Tony replied, "we don't know what that is."
"Well, if he is as obsessed with the downfall of Western civilization as he claims he is, then we know who he's gunning for don't we? The man who he just know called, who is probably panicking right now as a target. Who, if they follow protocol, will move in a predictable manner of boarding Air Force One."
"Aldrich is targeting the president," Tony stated, "JARVIS, hack into Homeland and find out Air Force One's present location, now!"
"At once sending, sending to the Spider's and your HUD."
I leaped out of the suit holding onto me and landed on the roof of my car, jumping into the driver's seat just as Air JARVIS sent a location to our screens. They were flying over Washington DC, over three hours away.
"Let's go," I took off, Tony flying right besides me.
"JARVIS call Rhodey," Tony relied. The AI did its thing and Tony turned to me, "you know Peter, you really are a pretty good detective."
"I do my best," I shrugged.
"Apologize sir," JARVIS spoke, "I can't seem to get an answer from the conel."
"AIM must have gone after him," I shot forward, "JARVIS, can you track his armour?"
"I'm sorry sir, but no. Whoever redesigned the War Machine armour into the Iron Patriot armour removed all my influence over it. I can't locate the suit in any form."
"Iron Patriot, such a stupid name," I growled remembering that it was actually the suit Norman Osborn wore during his time as 'the good guy'.
"Damn it," Tony hissed, "fine, we'll just have to hope Rhodey can take care of himself."
"Do you have the president's number?" I asked Tony, "we can warn him about the threat to his life."
"Good thinking Peter," Tony replied, "do it JARVIS."
"Yes sir."
The caller rang, Tony used my car's audio system and put his call on loudspeaker.
"Hello?" an older man's voice called out, one I recognized as the president's.
"Hey Ellis it's me Tony!"
"Tony? Oh, why are you calling me?" he asked.
"Well, you see, I've been dealing with the Mandarin and he's kind of coming after you."
"Yes, I know, he threatened me on national TV not ten minutes ago."
"Yeah, well I'm betting that he's coming after you in your damn plane! He's planning all of this Ellis! You need to get out of there!"
"It's alright Tony, I calculated for this threat," he sounded smug, "that's why I invited the Iron Patriot to be my bodyguard. In fact, he's arriving right now."
"What?!" Tony cried out, "no! No! That isn't Rodney! Someone stole his armour! It's not-"
"-ARGH!" we heard the president cry out, cutting the call short.
"Shit!" Tony cried out, "they got him!"
"Sir!"
"What now JARVIS?!" Tony cried out.
"The house in Malibu has just been attacked. Ms. Potts and Ms. Williams have been kidnapped. They destroyed the suits and the house sir...I'm sorry, but madam Maya Hasen did not make it."
Tony and I were stunned, the only reason we kept flying was because everything was on autopilot.
"S-show me."
Tony was silent for the longest time, he was seething in rage, I could feel it roll off him. I didn't know what he was seeing inside his armour, but the video feed made him more and more angry by the moment.
"Where are they?!" Tony roared, "where is Pepper and my daughter?!"
"Ms. Potts has activated her tracking beacon, it seems being taken somewhere up North along the Western coast."
"Where is the president being taken?" I asked.
"I'm tracking his phone currently sir, it seems he's being taken somewhere North East."
"Their on opposite sides of the country," Tony hissed.
"Tony," I shot him a look, "I'll save the president, you go save Pepper and your daughter."
"You sure?" Tony asked, but I could see his mind was already made up to leave this to me.
"I'm sure. Go, save your daughter," I nodded.
Tony nodded back, "thanks kid, JARVIS, stay with Peter and help him out with the remaining suits we have on hand."
"Understood sir," JARVIS's voice came from my dashboard, damn, he uploaded himself in seconds, now that was impressive.
Tony then broke off from our route and charged into his fastest speed as he bolted towards Pepper's location.
"Hey Tony," I called into his coms, "do me a favour will you?"
"What's that?"
"Put a damn ring on that woman's finger already," I smirked as I cut off the comns. I leaned back and sighed as Doc took over piloting.
I began to think. I was going to face an army of fire breathing monsters with super strength and heat powers. Oh, and let's not forget the guns. On my side I have around fifteen armour suits, myself and a flying car with no weapons...yeah, I really need to upgrade this thing.
Time to call for backup.
"Sexy, call Fury," I spoke.
The call went out, the phone rang twice before fury picked up. "What!?" Fury asked.
"The president is kidnapped," I statd.
"I know! And I'm working on it! So if you have something to say, say it quickly because I'm busy dealing with this damn mess!"
"I have his location on hand," I told him, "they're still transporting him. How soon can you assemble the Avengers?"
"Are you serious?" Fury asked.
"Deadly," I replied, "Tony and I were on the Mandarin's trail when he pulled this stunt. What did he do anyway?"
"Well for some reason the Iron Patriot armor just went crazy and kidnapped the president right out of the Air Force one runway! There wasn't a damn thing they could do!"
"AIM must have done something to the suit," I replied, "anyway, that doesn't matter. Avengers Fury, where are they?"
"Thor is off world and I'm guessing you don't want the Hulk in this mission right?"
"Oh hell no," I shot back.
"Well then I have bad news for you. Cap, Hawkeye and Widow were called out Afghanistan following a lead on the Mandarin."
"What?! But the Mandarin's base of operations is right in Miami!"
"Did you blow up that villa in Miami?" Fury asked.
"No, we didn't. But the place was set to blow up the moment we arrived. I'm guessing it was a trap. Who issued this order? Who pushed Cap, Hawkeye and Widow halfway around the world?"
"...The Vice-President of the United States."
"Fury, something's going wrong," I hissed, "the Vice President is in on all of this. Look, ready as many agents as you can," I looked on the screen, the dot was still moving, "I don't think they're going to stop any time soon. The moment they do, I'll send you the location, be ready to move at a moments notice, got that?"
"Right, stay in touch," Fury replied before slowly replying, "also kid...it's good to have you back."
I grinned, "don't say that just yet Fury, this time I'm not retiring until I make every single hair on your body turn white from stress."
"Heh, you can damn well try," Fury snorted as he cut the call.
I sighed, 'okay, no Avengers...what about the Fantastic?' "Sexy, call Sue."
"Hello?" Sue picked up sounding sleepy, "Peter? Is that you? What are you doing calling up so late? It's Three in the morning."
"The President of the United states has been kidnapped," I told her, "are you Four in or out?"
"The President?"
"Yes. He's been kidnapped by an army of genetically engineered super mutants with my healing abilities and Johnny's flame powers. They're basically walking nuclear bombs."
"...Give us an hour."
"Don't worry, I'm still following them, I won't have a proper location for you until some time."
"I see...ah, just one thing. We don't have a ride."
"Don't worry, I'll have SHIELD send you one," I took out my SA and typed out a text to Fury telling him to send someone to pick up the FF, "also Sue, remind me to build you guys a flying car, it really saves up on time."
"Yawn, whatever," she replied, hanging up the call. God I hope she doesn't go back to sleep.
Okay, so far I have four people on my side, but that won't be enough. In the movie Tony had nearly 40 suits of armour on his side and he still almost lost. I need more support, meaning...damn, I really hope Jean and the Professor won't get angry at me.
"Call Professor X," I spoke.
The phone rang only once before he picked up, "Peter? What is it? Did something happen?"
"The president of the United States has been kidnapped by man made mutants with healing abilities equal to Logan's, military training and the ability to breath and control fire. The Avengers are halfway around the world so I have to face these guys alone, with some help from SHIELD and the Fantastic Four. Think you guys can lend a hand? It would be a great way to show mutant support."
"Give us a location, we'll be there as soon as we can."
"Be ready, I'll send it to you in one hours time. Spider out."
Two hours later:
President Ellis was tied up in the middle of an abandoned Roxxon oil rig, hanging from the metal cranes by chains while a metallic christmas tree glowed below him. He struggled, but he could barely move, he was after all locked inside a disabled Iron Patriot suit.
I stood once again on my car's roof as I floated a good hundred feet away from the rig, watching the president with my helmet' telescopic vision.
"Are you all ready?" I spoke into my comns.
"Alpha team standing by," the leader of the hundred SHIELD agents Fury sent for this mission replied.
"Fantastic team standing by," Reed replied.
"Such a stupid name," Johnny snorted.
"Shush Johnny!" Sue hissed.
"X team incoming and ready for action," Logan's gruff voice from the radio replied.
"Alright, you all know the objectives. Sound them off," I called out.
"Alpha team will be on the ground taking care of all Extremis targets," the SHIELD agent replied without hesitation.
"Fantastic team will assist and take down any surprises," Reed replied robotically.
"X team will assist with extracting Aldrich and the Mandarin," Logan grunted.
"And the suits and I will take care of the president," I sighed, just then I saw the Mandarin, or Trevor, walk onto a platform with the President behind him and a camera crew before him, "alright they're going to make their move. Get ready to move the moment they begin."
They didn't answer, they knew what to do. "Sexy, show me what they're saying," I replied as a TV moniter was displayed on my HUD.
"My children, it's time for another lesson," the Mandarin began to speaking, going into the history of the oil rig, but I didn't care, it was time to move.
"Let's go Jarvis!" I leaped off my car's hood.
"Yes sir," JARVIS brought a suit right under me as I landed on its back and rode it like a surfboard into the oil rig.
"Alpha team, Fantastic team, make some noise people!" I cried out.
"Right!" Johnny cried out. I looked up and sure enough I saw Johnny leap out of the invisible SHIELD chopper flying directly over the oil rig. The Human Torch exploded into flames as he came flying down, throwing fire balls at the Mandarin's camera crew.
"Sorry folks! This news program is canceled!"
"Move move move!" the Alpha team leader called out as he and his team of agents jumped out of the helicopter with jetpacks and guns, gliding down to fire on the the AIM goons on the dock.
"It's Clobberin time!" the Thing replied as he came crashing into the rig from a great height shattering the ground before charging into a pile of Extremis soldier, plowing them down like a bowling ball with pins.
Soon the ground was chaos as the people began to fight, Reed rounding people up, Sue blasting them away with invisible shields. I flew past all of them on the suit I rode, reaching the president in seconds.
"Don't worry, I got it," I replied as I released my stingers and cut into the chains holding him up.
"Spider-man?" the president asked in disbelief, "aren't you local to New York?"
I snorted, "what can I say? I make an exception when it's the president of the United States," I cut the other chain an immediately grabbed him before he could fall down. I then drew a cable from my helmet to his suit and plugged it into a port, "Sexy, hack into his suit and give the controls back to JARVIS."
"On it boss," Sexy replied.
"There!" I looked over and saw several Extremis soldiers jumping from crane to crane like a child on monkey bars. They were coming straight for us.
"Look out!" the president cried out.
I was about to attack when I felt a strong breeze came across my face.
Kakoom!
Thunder came and then lightning. I looked up and saw it began to rain. I smirked, "don't worry, they got this."
"Who?"
"X-men! Go!" I heard Scott cry out as the Black Bird appeared overhead, it's loading bay doors open as the X-men leaped out ready to fight.
I saw Jean fly down with Rouge in toe. Kathy leaped down, phasing through any objects that would hurt her, slowly herself down on decent. Kurt and Evans teleported while Storm, Logan and Scott came down on one of Storm's stronger wind currents.
"Take them out team!" Scott yelled as they did just that, surrounding the president and I, creating a perimeter around us and the Extremis soldiers.
Scott released his optical beams, firing at several Extremis soldiers, sending them flying back. Logan got close and personal while Kathy phased threw objects, brining the fiery soldiers with her, forcing them stuck halfway between objects. Evans sent out his bone spikes, impaling people from afar and any that got too close got slashed across the face, hard.
Jean caught one with her mind before she brought the soldier to Rouge who touched him with her bare skin. The girl roared in pain before controlling the powers she gained, proving the transfer a success as she breathed a sea of fire on a metal wire, causing the crate it was holding to come crashing down, crushing a couple of Extremis soldiers fighting the SHIELD agents down below.
Kurt immeditaly bamfed next to me, smiling, "hello sir, can I help you?" The kid wore a face mask covering the bottom half of his face, in fact they all did, hiding their identity, guess they don't want the president of all people to know what they looked like.
"W-what are you people?" the man asked.
"They're mutants sir," I replied, "and they are here to help, do you understand?" I stressed the last part a little too hard.
"Sir," JARVIS called out, "I have regained access to the suit."
"Good, pop him out," I replied, immediately the president was shot out, I grabbed him and helped him back him before turning him to Kurt, "can you teleport him back to the mansion?"
"No, that's too far," Kur shock his head.
"What about that?" I pointed to the SHIELD helicopter.
Kurt nodded, "no problem!" he offered the president his hand, the man looked weary before nodding and accepting Kurt's help, they vanished in a bamph.
I hit my compns, "the president is secured aboard the SHIELD helicopter. You guys can trash the place, go nuts."
And they did. They moment I gave them the green light, they let loose. Ben began throwing crate full of oil around and Johnny light it up, setting Extremis soldiers on fire. And while the damage wasn't permanent, it did give Sue the chance to blast them all into the surrounding waters, cooling them off.
Reed and Logan made a surprising team as Reed would launch people through the air and Logan would slice them up quickly.
Storm kept the rain coming, dousing the flames of the Extremis fighters while Jean and Rouge did their best to beat the shit out of the rest of them, with Scott, Kathy and I providing back up.
As I took down my seventh Extremis soldier I looked over and noticed the Mandarin and another man, blonde in a white suit, I'm assuming Aldrich, run away. They were getting into a chopper, ready to fly away, or so I thought.
Aldrich it seemed was adamant to kill the president and was flying his chopper directly into the path of the SHIELD chopper.
I need to do something, quick. I turned to Jean, "Birdie!" I cried gaining her attention. I pointed at the choppers about to crash, "can you stop them?!"
"I'll try!" Jean replied as she stepped forward, focusing all her attention on the two choppers. An Extremis soldier tried to use her distraction to kill her, but I shot a web blast at his face blinding him before I leaped over and kicked his face, sending him flying off and down two hundred feet.
But as he flew down I don't have the heart to kill him. So I shot a web line and caught him by the leg, I'm not a killer, not a needless one.
I turned to Jean and to my unsurprised self, she did it. She was sweating and her face was bright red from concentration, but she did it. Aldrich's helicopter was frozen in mid air, a good twenty feet away from the SHIELD one.
"Cyclops!" I called out gaining Scott's attention. I pointed at Aldrich's helicopter, "blow him out of the sky!"
"Right," Scott fired off a laser beam, but it was off center, hitting the chopper blades instead.
"I can't hold it!" Jean cried out as it began falling out of the sky and down towards the oil rig, where several SHIELD agents were, along with the FF.
"I got this!" I yelled as I jumped into the path of the chopper.
SKIT!
The four mechanical arms in my backpack popped out. I haven't used these in a long time, let's hope I wasn't rusty. I began to shoot out webs, six at a time, four from my back and two from my shooters. I formed a weak structure just in time for the helicopter to come crashing into it.
The webbing strained for a moment before it held. I continually created more and more lines, connecting to form a stable giat web strong enough to hold the entire chopper. I sighed in relief and jumped inside, looking for Aldrich and the Mandarin.
The Mandarin was in the front seat, and he groaned in pain, "I'm never drinking again." I groaned, where was Aldrich? Where was-Spider senses, I ducked and leaped out of the helicopter just as a flaming fist tore through chopper's outer casing.
I landed on my web and watched as Killigan stepped out, his suit slowly burning off as his body radiated heat and magma, he gave a cruel smile, "I'm going to enjoy killing you."
"No you're not," I shot off webs at him, trying to contain him, but he burnt them off.
"Weak," he leaped off the chopper and stepped onto the web, slowly burning them off with each carefully placed step.
"No!" I spun my hands clockwise, forming a glowing red and gold circle before shooting out a whip of energy, wrapping around Killian tightly.
"I told you, these don't work on me!" he cried out, turning up the heat. But no matter what he did, the whips of Vastha didn't burn. He looked surprised, "what are these?"
I grinned, "magic," I flicked my wrist and threw him into the air. He flew straight over before landing into the ocean where a few more of his Extremis soldiers joined him curse of the Fantastic Four.
And the moment Aldrich was defeated, the rest fell like dominos as well. SHIELD got gene suppressive cuffs on hand, courtesy of Reed Richards himself. We brought the president down from the SHIELD chopper and began loading it with criminals, among which Killian and the 'Mandarin' were the first to go.
"Well, this was fun," Sue chuckled as we all gathered around the heart of the oil rig a the agents did their job.
"Hey there Red, nice to see you again," Johnny winked grinning at Jean.
Jean raised an eyebrow, "should you really be sending googly eyes at me Johnny? Don't you have a girlfriend?"
"Well, yes, I do. But I'm sure she'll understand," Johnny gave off a nervous chuckle.
"Johnny, here's a little bit of info," I patted his shoulder, "Red over and there and Liz are best friends."
"He's dating Liz?!" Jean shrieked, "what?! And she didn't tell me?!"
I blinked, "you didn't know?"
"No! Gr, that girl!" Jean growled before turning to Johnny cna glaring, "you break her heart, I break you."
Johnny gulped, "yes ma'am."
Bamph!
Kurt suddenly appeared next to us with the president in toe, "ta-da!"
"Amazing, can you teleport anywhere?" the president asked, a greedy gleam in his eyes.
"Yes! All I have to do is know where I have to go!" Kurt supplied happly, not realising the implications of his powers.
"Mr. President," I called out gaining his attention, "surely you aren't thinking of performing uncalled for experiments on an American citizen are you?"
"W-what, no of course not!" the man scoffed.
"Glad to hear it," I nodded, "sir, these are the X-men," I motioned over to the mutants who gathered together, most looking shy at the president's gaze, "their mutants who are being trained to control their abilities so that one day they can work with humanity into a new age."
"I-I see," the man nodded, "thank you, you did a fine job rescuing me today...perhaps one day you could serve your country in other ways."
"We'll think about it sir," Scott replied.
"I don't know about you, but I fell like this calls for a celebration!" Evans cried out, "we should totally take a picture!"
"Here, let me," I took out my phone as we all gathered around with the president in the enter smiling good naturedly. Ever the politician, he knew when to smile, especially if there was a camera around.
The FF stood on the president's left while the X-men stood on his right with me standing at the edge, holding out the camera in a tapering angle, somehow getting everyone into the frame.
Jean was by my side, she smiled as she planted a kiss on my helmet "Say Extremis sucks!" I cheered.
"Extremis sucks!" they all cried out.
I quickly posted the pic on all my social media accounts with the caption: Spidey back at again with the newest super team! #X-men #FF! USA!
And Twitter blew up.
Oh my god he really is back!
Shit! Why is it that every super heroine is fucking hot?!
Who are these X-men? Why are they hiding their faces?
It took a while, but after the picture everyone went their own way. The FF took a ride with SHIELD back home, the president going with hem. The X-men had their jet, though Jean promised to call again to talk about me returning to my role as a hero.
I then took inventory, out of the fifteen suits I brought with me only six survived. I was lucky to have at least these on hand. I got into my car and took off, leaving SHIELD to clean the rest of this mess up.
As I flew over the country again, heading towards Tony's location, I noticed it was currently in Seattle. I immediately called him up, he picked up quickly.
"Did you get him?" Tony asked.
"Aldrich and the Mandarin are in custody along with his men. The president is safe...it's over Tony. Did you find Pepper and Riri? What happened to them."
"It was like you said, divide and conquer. They just wanted my attention away from the Mandarin, I don't think they figured you into their plans because until a few days ago you were still thought to be dead."
"Thank God for small miracles," I snorted, "how are they?"
"Pepper is fine...she's a little shaken up but...she's fine."
"And Riri?" I asked.
"Her mother just died...she's not handling it well," Tony sighed.
I sighed back, "when...when's the funeral?"
"In a few days...will you come?"
"Of course," I replied, "I'll send the remaining suits to your home. And if you don't mind, I'm exhausted Tony, I need sleep."
"Right, yeah, of course. Go ahead kid, you earned it."
"Right...and Tony...I'm sorry."
Three days later:
Maya was buried in a grave outside of Chicago, where she was born. The funeral was a small one, around twenty people showed up, she didn't have many friends.
Tony had arranged the whole thing, with Pepper's help of course. I stood off n the back, dressed in a dark suit, the few I had on hand. It was a bright and sunny day, odd day for a funeral. And standing before Maya's grave, was her daughter, Riri.
The girl carried in her hand a single white flower. I couldn't tell the species, I never good with things like that. She placed it on her mother's coffin and walked back, steeping next to Tony and placed a gentle arm on her shoulder, though she didn't even react.
She watched the coffin lowered into the ground without a word. She stayed while everyone else left. She stood there while they buried her mother, Tony and Pepper now sitting on a bench far away, letting the girl have as much time as she wanted.
I saw the look on her face, they pain, the suffering and I knew then no twelve year old should ever have that look on her face.
I walked up behind her, she didn't even react as I stood right next to her, looking at her mother's tombstone. It read, 'Mother, Scientist and Beloved'.
I took a deep breath and sighed, "you and I aren't that different Riri."
She moved, looking at me finally, "who are you?"
I smiled, a grim one, "can't you tell by the voice?"
She looked at me, it took her a second before her eyes visibly widened in shock before blinking, "you're way younger than I thought you would be."
I shrugged, "most think so," we turned to her mother's grave once more.
We were silent, I was waiting for her to begin her questions, only then would she listen to what I had to say. She sighed, "how are we similar?"
"When I was four years old, my mother died," I replied.
"That's not the same," she shot back.
"I know," I nodded, "but...she died because she knew something. A secret formula..you know how Captain America got his powers right?"
"Some kind of drug?" she guessed.
I nodded, "yeah. And my parents were tyrin to recreate it. And they did, in a way. There were people after them, both of them, though they only took my father. They didn't think my mother was worth anything...little did they know she was the one who actually cracked the formula, not my dad.
"She died then, but my dad lived. For fifteen years he worked as their slave before escaping and now...now I have a dad and I don't know how I should act with him."
I turned to Riri, she was interested, "your mother...she gave her life for you. And yes, that's a tragedy, but she did it out of love for you. I'm not a parent, but there are people in this world I will die for, gladly die for, and I can bet your mother felt more strongly about you than I ever can about someone else…
"Greave Riri, compile the pain and use it. But don't let it take it over you, don't let it define you. If you become someone held down by your pain, it can turn good people cruel, vile. I've seen it happen before. Live a happy life, a full life, one that your mother would be proud of...and...well, maybe give this useless dad of yours a chance," I grinned, "he might just surprise you."
Riri listened, but her face didn't change. She looked at her mother's grave, "I can't just leave her. I can't just forget her."
"She'll always be here Riri," I tapped her chest, "in your heart. Always," I chuckled, "maybe that should be your superhero code name huh? Ironheart...what do you think?"
A smile cracked onto Riri's face, "sounds dope...thanks Spidey."
"The name's Peter Parker," I ruffled her hair playfully, "if you ever need someone to talk to, call," I walked away, letting her say her final goodbyes. I nodded at Pepper and Tony, I noticed a diamond ring on the former's finger, guess Tony did keep his promises after all.
I walked up to them, "Tony, I need a favour."
"What?" he asked.
"I'm working on a new suit design," I told him, "one that should put an end to my need for upgrades for a long time. But I need a few things."
"What do you need?"
"A weapons dealer by the name of Ulysses Klaue," I recalled the name from Age of Ultron, "I understand you used to deal with him?"
"Klaue….you don't want to mix up with him Peter," Tony warned, "he's ruthless and cruel. He's a slaver, a monster and-"
"-And I'm going to rob him blind," I replied, "I just need a location, that's all. He should be somewhere in Africa."
"Well that narrows things down," Tony snorted, "fine, I'll get you anything JARVIS managed to dig up. But no promises, got that?"
I nodded, "right," I smiled at Pepper, "congratulations. He's a lucky man."
"And he knows it," Peper smiled, "you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"
"No," I sighed looking at my watch, "it's late, I need to get home soon. Besides, it's Christmas Eve and I still haven't bought my presents yet."
"Well you better hurry then, chop chop," Tony waved me away, just as Riri finished mourning and slowly walked to Tony and Pepper.
"Right, see you later. Call if you ever threaten a terrorist or something," I snorted, walking out of the graveyard and into my car. I drove out before taking off into the air, blasting off towards New York.
A few hours later:
I sighed as I put away the washed dishes from dinner, "alright, I'm going to bed you guys."
"What's wrong Pete? Getting old?" Richard asked with a chuckled from the couch next to the fireplace.
"No," I snorted, "I'm just exhausted. From the extra hours at the Baxter foundation and last minute gift shopping I'm spent. Also, I need to sleep, or else Santa might not come this year," I replied, winking at the man.
"Good night Peter!" May called out, "make sure you get enough rest dear!"
"Night aunt May, uncle Ben, dad!" I called out walking upstairs, yawning, it had been a long day. I spent most of it shopping, I had honestly forgot it was going to be Christmas, since I did spend three months in another world at another time.
I had gotten MJ and Liz a custom made smartwatch with a panic button directly linked to Sexy, in case they were in danger. And for MJ I also gave her 50 bucks, since she did win that bet we made.
For Johnny I got a year's supply of microwave popcorn, his favorite binge food. For Reed I got him a book on yoga and one on the Kamasutra. What? He's the most flexible guy in the world, it would be a crime if he didn't read those books!
For Ben I got a book on self acceptance, since it was something he really needed and for Sue...well, I got her a smutty romance novel about a love story between an hot older cougar and a young impressionable handsome man. And a signed copy of Stephen Hawkings book on Black Holes. The first one was more of a gag gift than anything.
I also got gifts for Jean and the X-men. For Rouge I got a pair of latex gloves and a whip, hehe. For Scott I got a pair of custom made sunglasses that would never fall off by accident, meaning no clumsy mistakes.
For Kurt I got him a Hellboy comic book and Kath got the Hollow Man. Evans got a new skateboard, Logan got a shaving kit, Ororo got a book on gardening, since I knew she liked that and or the professor I got a book on human ethics. And a afro wig….I was more serious on the second gift.
And for Jean...well, I got her two gifts. The first was a sexy set of red lingerie with my birthday attached to it. And the second was a magical item. A psychic totem which Strange gave me to focus my mental abilities. I told Jean how it worked, hopefully she would find it useful.
I also got a gift for Fury, a box of beard oil. Hehe, figured since he can only grow a beard he would want a big one.
I didn't really get anything for the Avengers, since I didn't know were most of them lived. I got Bruce a book on Krav Maga, my reasoning is if he can protect himself, he won't have to rely so much on the Hulk.
For Nat I got a set of silver bangles, nothing too complex, jewelry is usually the best way to go. For Steve I got him a pendrive filled with popular movies and for Tony I got him a book on parenting.
I also sent Clint a book on how stupid archery was, but I doubt he will actually like it. Hehe, whatever.
I got May a set of gold earrings, Ben, an expensive blazer and for Richard a nice watch. Which also served as a panic button just in case.
I yawned as I walked into my room and closed the door behind me. Now, I had just one last thing to deliver. My final gift to that special person.
I quickly changed into my costume and swung out of my home heading towards the bridge connecting Manhattan to Queens. I set my web shooters into the hardest setting and got to work.
The Next day:
I yawned as I woke up on Christmas morning. I took out my phone and sure enough people had noticed the gift I had left last night and had taken pictures. It was currently the most trending picture on Twitter at the moment.
I smiled as I looked at the pic. It was taken during dawn, just as the sun came up, hitting the water below, casting shadows on the web words I had put up. There, strung across the bridge were the words, 'Merry X-mas Kitten. Love- S'.
I smiled, I really hope Felicia liked it. I put down the phone jumped out of bed, throwing my window open and sighing. It was a good day...a very good day. But….I had one last present to give.
I changed into my costume and went out swinging. I made my way into the city with a red present webbed to my backpack. It took me a while, but I managed to find the hospital in question and by having Sexy hack into its records I found his room easily enough too.
I opened the window and slipped inside. The steady sound of his heartbeat ringing loudly in the room. There were various tubes attached to his body, state of the art machines were used to monitor him and a clean set of bandages around his head.
"Hey Harry," I sighed as I sat down next to him, placing the gift I got by his bedside, it was a Blueray of the mask of Zorro, according to Peter's memories he and Harry used to watch that all the time.
I looked at his sunken face, he had been in a coma since the day he was injured. The doctors say he might not wake up anytime soon. I can only imagine what Norman must be feeling.
Usually I wouldn't even think of him but Harry….he was Peter' friend. I didn't want him dead. And I guess I felt a little guilty. I sighed as flicked a hair from his face, "Merry Christmas pal...get better soon, okay?"
And without expecting a response, I left the room the same way I came in. Immediately I heard the siren of police vehicles go off in the distance. I grumbled, even on Christmas crime refused to take a damn day off
January 2nd:
I looked at the monitor and I began recreating the formula for unstable molecules I remembered Franklin Richards of Earth 982 showed me. It was difficult to do, sure, but it was exciting. And to be honest, the fact that I already knew what to strive for made it all the more exciting.
"Alright Sexy, run the simulations now," I ordered, stepping away from the council and looked at the terminal monitor.
"Running," Sexy replied, "simulation complete. Unstable molecule fabric has been successfully formed. Testing….no breakdown of the fabric on an atomic level. Congratulations boss, you just made a new fabric."
"Thanks Sexy," I grinned, "now, get me a list of everything I'll need to weave the cloth with."
"Here you go, quick note, you are not going to like it," Sexy replied.
I raised an eyebrow but looked at the list. IT was all high tech material, state of the art. But then again it would have to be. And it all came up to…
"Two hundred million?!" I cried out at the numbers running before me, and it kept climbing! "What the hell?! Three hundred...five hundred million dollars?! What the living fuck?! FUCK!"
I knew immediately Sue and Reed wouldn't go for it. Not ever. Sure the inventions I gave them before was nice and all, but this...damn….it's too much. A half a billion dollars...but, I could make suits that would never tear or get old.
Maybe...maybe this wasn't a problem, but a solution.
"Sexy, pull up the research paper out of Kyoto about shape changing fabrics," I called out.
"Yes Peter" Sexy replied as she displayed the papers I had purchased and read over in my spare time. It was a fascinating theory, a solution to all the waste we as a race produce in terms of clothing.
The article spoke about how in the future we could possibly have clothes that transformed into different structures, thereby solving our need for a unique change of pace. But, we would still retain the same pair of clothes we always wore.
I read this article the first time because it reminded me off how the symbiote worked. A everchanging suit that could take on different shapes on will? Yeah, it got my attention. But it was far too...extreme for my case. But now...maybe I could use this.
The technology was being promoted by one doctor Wheng Cha, chinese, but moved to japan to continue his research. Cha was a genius, but he hadn't been able to actually get his technology to work, he claimed he couldn't make a material versatile enough to do so. But...maybe I did.
I had an idea, an odd one, but an idea. A suit of unstable molecules for every living person on the planet. Pen that they would wear from the moment they were born, till the day thy day. Adapting to the latest trends in seconds.
The fashion industry would be destroyed, no more sweatshops, no more child labour forces. And...while many many people would lose their jobs, it would be a streamlined process. The possibility was there, simply can a picture of the clothes you want and your second skin will turn into it.
The idea was a little far off, but the unstable molecules I was developing could do it. A few more modifications, add in the ability to change upon will, maybe….200 million dollars to add in memory cloth features to change the shape of the cloth with electrical impulses...a port, a small motherboard, like a raspberry...yes, this could work!
But the money, that is still a problem. Plus now it would cost half a billion dollars! Damn it, if only I had some gold on hand then I….wait, I do...well, not me, but the Reed Richards on Earth 982 had access to the Negative Zone, which was so full of gold that...oh my God!
Yes, the chances of there being a Negative Zone with gold in it in my world is slim, but I'm willing to be that the Negative Zone is similar in most world's, a multiversal constant...maybe. Btu then there are several sub factors, like the fact that it was a world made out of anti-matter and without significant preparation I can't even enter it.
"Damn it," I grumbled, "if only I could go back to that world and get that gold," I sighed as I looked at my lab closet where I stored my robes and bag of infinite storage, if I was in the Negative Zone now I could just carry all that gold in my freaking bag! Grrr! Curse you circumstances!
I sighed heavily leaning back on my seat, the only way I can imagine making up all that money now would be if I make a crazy new invention and sell it for lots and lots of money. But I first need to think of something that cool, and it should be versatile.
"Peter, I need to remind you, we need to test your blood toxicity levels," Sexy's voice rang out.
I sighed, "yeah, sure," I got up and approached my genetic scanner, drawing a small sample of blood I inserted it into the machine and waited. There was a beep as the results were displayed on the screen above.
Blood Toxicity: 67%
Those three months I spent in Earth 982 made things much easier for me. I'm sure maybe after a few months I would be back to normal.
After completing the test I decided to take a break walked out to the lounge where I found it surprisingly quiet, with only Ben there for company.
"Hey Ben, isn't it pretty late?" I asked him as I poured myself a cup of coffee.
"Kid, it's seven in the morning," Ben grumbled as he changed channels to a new special, "have you been up all night?"
I sighd, "kind off. I'm been working on something new."
"Huh? Make anything good?"
"Yes, but only on paper. To actually make it a reality I need a lot of money."
"How much?"
"Half a billion dollars," I shrugged.
"Woah," Ben blinked, "that's a lot."
"Yeah, I know. Problem is I know exactly how to make that much money, but I can't do it right now," I grumbled.
"Why is that kid?" Ben asked.
"Well, you know about my adventure in another world right?"
Ben nodded, "Johny told me about it, so what?"
"Well, the Reed Richards of that world actually had an portal to a world where the ground was literally gold. An entire planet with the surface made of gold. So….yeah. Kind of a missed opportunity here."
"Hm, why can't you just ask Reed to build this portal?" Ben asked, "I know you don't exactly trust him with this stuff, but shouldn't it be possible if the other Reed did it as well?"
I blinked, "well….I guess….but there are a lot of risks, it would take a lot of work."
"So? Do it. Isn't your project worth it?" Ben asked.
I grinned, "hell yeah it is. Thanks Ben, you always know exactly what to say," I waved as I left the lounge, heading straight to Reed's lab. I threw opened the doors and walked in, finding Reed asleep on his desk.
"Wake up!" I cried out, making him shoot up in shock.
"Peter? What's wrong?"
I grinned, "you and I are going to build a portal to the dimension that gave you all super powers Reed. And this time, I'm making sure you don't blow us all to hell, got that?"
Reed blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes, "what?"
Two weeks later:
"So I told her, that's totally not going to happen," MJ rolled her eyes as Mark and I sighed in despair. A month ago I was fighting six crimilas, three weeks ago I saved the president of the united states. And now...school. Fuck my life.
"Oh you better have, I can't believe she thought that was alright!" Liz cried out.
"I know right! Like, she wants my role, but she can't get it just because of that! I earned my spot!"
I turned to Mark, "so, how's the band?"
He nodded, "they're fine," he sipped his water, I noticed he had gotten a few more ear piercings, god, he looks like a porcupine! I know this guy had a statue to maintain, being a musician and all that, but god he looks like a tool.
"You guys playing any time soon?" I asked, curious to see if he was any good in the first place.
"Yeah, we actually have a gig tonight in the Abandoned Train station in the city," Mark grinned, "you probably don't know it, but we kind of use that place as a club of sorts. It's super popular and very exclusive. Hell, getting a gig there was hard as hell! But if we do good tonight, it's all straight uphill from here!"
I nodded, "cool man, maybe I'll swing by."
"Really?" Mark sounded surprised, "don't you have like, work with the FF or something?"
I shrugged, "no actually. I was working on a project, but I did my part," meaning Reed had to finish up on setting up a molecule quantum wave nullifier field. Without that we can't progress any further.
"That's fun, I guess," Mark shrugged, but inside i could tell he was excited. Why did he care so much if I came or not? Hm, curious.
"Wait, did I hear that right?! Parker is coming to the Catch?!" Flash suddenly appeared behind me, laughing his lungs out. I sighed, yeah, he's the one Felicia marries, over my dead body.
"What? Peter's coming tonight?" MJ and Liz stopped talking, all looking at me.
I sighed, "yes, is that so strange?"
"Well...yeah," Liz blinked, "you hardly ever come and hang out with us these days. Ever since you ah...well, you know."
She's right, ever since I came back home from Earth-982 I've been Spider-man 24/7 and working in the lab as well. I shrugged, "well even I need a break now and then. And besides, I've never heard Mark play before, it should be fun."
Mark grinned, "damn right it will! Alright, this is going to rock!"
"Ha, funny, I never expected you to be down to party Parker," Flash snorted, "you know, there are going to be drugs there, so don't go squamish on us Parker."
I snorted, "unlike you Flash I already live life to the fullest, I don't need drugs to help me escape, my life is already awesome."
Flash's eyes began to twitch, "what you say Parker?"
I narrowed my eyes, "you heard me."
"You want to take this outside boys?" Liz said sighing, "I really don't want my lunch spoilt with the sight of your both bickering like an old married couple."
Flash snorted, "fine, you know what, let's make a wager. Loser has to show up to school tomorrow dressed in all pink."
I raised an eyebrow, "interesting...and the challenge?"
"First person to pick up a chick at the Catch wins," Flash smiled evilly, "you in? Or are you still hung up on Hardy?"
I glared, "I'm in," I shook his hand, squeezing harder than usual, "I'm going to enjoy this." Liz and MJ looked confused, they probably expected me to still be hung up over Felicia. And while I was, I also knew it was way past time for me to move on.
"Hey, whatever," Flash took his hand away, shake it as a red handprint appeared, huh, guess I squeezed too hard.
Flash then walked back to his seat and I turned to my friends, "alright, we have a problem," I slammed my hands on the table, "MJ, Liz, make me sexy!"
"Now we're taking!" Liz cheered, "finally, something I'm good at!"
That night:
"Put this on next!" Liz threw another shirt into my arms.
I sighed, "come on Liz, this is the third one!"
"Oh quit whining!" Liz hissed as she searched through the rest of my closet for other clothes to wear. "I got to say Peter you got some nice stuff in here. Heck, I didn't think a dork like you had style."
"Thanks Liz," I rolled my eyes as I stepped into my closet and changed, "actually I didn't really get those, Felicia did."
"Oh," Liz muttered slowly.
"You know Tiger, I'm proud of you," MJ said as she sat on my bed going through her phone, "you haven't done something like this in months."
"Months, try ever," Liz snorted, "Mr. Responsibility there doesn't do parties. But now that he's finally pulled himself out of that rut he got himself into I'm hoping we'll get a funner Peter Parker."
"Well I would hope so," I replied as I stepped out now dressed in black form fitting jeans with a bright purple shirt with the arms rolled up to my biceps and tucked into the pants. I had a coat vest over the shirt giving off the polished hipster look.
MJ looked over and whistled, "damn Peter, you look good."
"Not bad," Liz replied, "you know, you really should wear stuff like that more often. I mean, you have a ton of stuff like this in your closet yet you only wear this dumpy looking stuff."
"Well I'm not vain enough for that," I shrugged, "I usually just wear something nice to impress someone. And since you already know my other set of clothes is impressive enough as is it..."
"Well that's something," MJ shrugged, "hey, do you mind picking up Mark on the way over? He kind of doesn't have a ride."
"Sure, no problem, I mean, it's not like I can say no, Mark's the only normal male friend I have."
Liz blinked, "wait, seriously? You don't have any other guy friends?"
I shrugged, "well, yeah. I mean, I have plenty guy friends, but most of them are superheroes or adults. There's Johnny, Reid, Ben, Tony, Cap, David….and….ah….woah this is hard….woah, okay, I don't have many friends."
MJ chuckled, "some things never change."
We got ready soon, the girls already dressed for the evening when they came over. Liz wore a long red skirt and black top with a leather jacket over it while MJ wore a green pair of jeans, a bright yellow blouse and a long coat over her.
We walked downstairs just as Richard and Ben got in, they noticed us and blinked in surprise.
"Hey buddy," Ben said looking me up and down, "where are you all off it?"
MJ cleared her throat and began the immensely complicated lie she had prepared, "well you see Me. Parker Liz and I got invited to a friend's place-"
"-Party," I replied with a shrug, shocking MJ and Liz still, "we're going to a highschool party."
"I see...will there be drugs?"
I shrugged, "probably, but I won't need them."
"And loud music?"
"I hope."
"Will you drink?" Richard asked looking curious.
"I'm most certainly going to try," I nodded.
"I see...have fun," Richard smiled much to the girl's utter disbelief.
"Wait...seriously?!" Liz cried out.
Ben chuckled, "Liz dear, do you know how long we have been trying to get Peter to go out and have some fun for once? This is a welcome change! Haha," Ben ruffled my hair, much to Liz's distress as she spent half an hour getting it just right, "just be careful, alright?"
I smiled, "don't worry uncle Ben, I know, with great power-"
"-Comes great responsibility," said literally everyone else in the house.
With that down the girls and I got into my car and drove off, the location already in the system as Doc took over and drove away. We picked up Mark along the way, it took us fifteen minutes to reach, we had to park the car far away near a parking lot a block away, as technically, this place was boarded up.
The entrance was behind a barbed fence that had been propped open with a large crate. Standing gaurd was a scruffy looking kid around our age, maybe older. He was a lookout, making sure no cops came to investigate.
Mark played the kid twenty bucks to enter, and once we walked through we entered a tunnel that lead straight into the heart of the train station, which was a modern masterpiece.
The tracks served as the stage with twelve in total lines up against each other, we had plenty of place to move. The platforms served as the stage meaning we had two bands that would play side by side with the winner being the one that gained the most audience support.
In the back of the station was the bar with drinks being served in kegs and bottles of cheap ass whiskey. And right now, there were two bands battling out, music blaring through the sound system, almost deafening.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Mark cried out as he took charge, leading us into the mosh pit in the tracks.
I groaned, "I may have miscalculated how much humanity I can stomach in one night."
"Oh grow up," Liz snorted as she grabbed my arm and dragged me forward into the pit.
"Mark! You made it!" a couple of guys dressed exactly like makr, leather jacket and all, approached us.
"Damn right I did! Hey guys, these are my buddies from Midtown," Mark said introducing us, "this is my girl MJ," he smiled at her, "and the feisty blonde in Liz. And the classy looking nerd is Peter. Be gentle with him, it's his first time having fun."
"Hey, I can have fun!" I cried out.
"Sure you can," Mark rolled his eyes before turning to his band, "alright, should we set up?"
"Yeah, we can right after this battle is over," the guy with the bass guitar around his neck said, "they're just about doen."
"Cool," Mark nodded before turning to us, "alright, I have to split, babe, you want to come with?"
"Ah, sure," MJ nodded, "but what about Liz and Peter?"
"Oh relax, we'll manage," Liz waved her worry away.
I nodded, "go ahead MJ, have fun, besides, Liz and I have to focus on getting me a date. I do not look good in pink trust me."
"Oh honey, you look good in anything," a guy with long bangs brushed up behind me, sending me a wink before going back into the mosh pit.
I flinched, "and this is why I hate people."
"Oh come on," Liz dragged me away, allowing MJ to go with Mark and his buddies. We settled onto the bar and grabbed ourselves a cup of beer before turning to look at the people, surveying for people for me to flirt with.
"What about her?" Liz asked pointing at a girl with a beanie and dyed blue hair.
I winced, "ah, no, too much personality for me."
"Okay," Liz sipped her drink, "then what about….her?" she pointed at a red head wearing a white see through blouse and a massive rack. For the longest moment my eyes were glued to her chest, before a guy came between, cutting of my view, glaring at me.
I drew my eyes away and cleared my throat, "I-ah, I don't really think that would be fair to her boyfriend," I pointed to the glaring guy with dyed blonde hair.
Liz chuckled, "right. Then how about-"
"-Babe!" I turned to see Johny rush over through the crowds dressed in civilian clothes, jeans, black shirt and a denim jacket.
"Hey Johnny," I waved as he and Liz kissed, "I didn't realise you would be here."
"Me miss a party? Never!" Johnny scoffed, throwing his arm around Liz, "the question is, what are you doing here?"
"What? Can't I have fun too?" I scoffed.
"Pete, the only time you ever have fun is when you're swinging between rooftops and kicking ass on a hourly basis."
I groaned, "yeah, I guess," and just then I noticed a girl with bright pink hair brush walk by, dressed like an underground DJ with major daddy issue judging by the 'Fuck Dads' T-shirt she wore over the leather jacket.
"Oh, she's nice," Liz squeaked, "you should talk to her."
"No thanks," I shrugged, "she's gay."
"What? How do you know?" Johnny asked.
I motioned over to the group of girls she was talking too. Liz scoffed, "Peter, that doesn't make her-" and then the girl kissed a brunette right on the lips in greeting shutting Liz up, "okay...how?"
I grinned, "she got horny only when surrounded by girls, I could smell the lust roll off her."
"Woah, so wait, do all these people smell something different?" Johnny asked, "isn't that a bit...confusing?"
I shuddered, "you have no idea," I opened my senses up for one moment and yeah, the resulting wave of signals almost engulfed me.
"Yo Parker!" we turned to notice Flash rush up to us with a smile on his face and a girl walking behind him, dragged behind by his wrist.
"What is it Flash?" Liz asked raising an eyebrow at the girl, she was blonde, tight purple dress and drunk by the way she looked.
"I just wanted to come over and tell you to suck it," Flash grinned at me, wrapping a big beefy arm around the blonde, who didn't look all there enough to care, "this is Kareena, and she's my date, isn't that right babe?"
"Whatever you say handsome," she slurred her words.
I groaned, "Flash, she looks like she's wasted. Where are her friends? We should get her home."
"What?" Flash blinked, turning to the girl and looking shocked, "shit! I thought she felt tipsy. Damn, I don't know, I think she came alone."
"Karen? Hello?" Liz approached the girl, "hey girl, can you tell us where your friends are? Are you okay enough to show us where you live?"
"Hm, no, don't want to," Karen slurred her words.
"Flash,we got to take her home," Liz told the large football player.
"Y-yeah," the teen nodded, "of course. Come on, I'll carry her."
Johnny narrowed his eyes, suspicion rolled off him, "I'll help you."
"I can do it flameboy," Flash glared back.
"I have more experience save people that you Flash," Johnny said as he quickly took Karen's other side and they began walking away.
"Damn it," Liz hissed, "Johnny, wait for me!" she turned back around, "sorry Peter, I got to make sure they don't ripe each other apart!"
I shrugged, "it's fine, go ahead," she nodded and quickly ran. I sighed as I finished the rest of my drink, in all honesty I was hoping for a fun night, but responsibility called.
And now, I have to fucking entertain myself, just great. Damn it, I have to wear pink now, Flash did technically pick up a girl, even though she was completely wasted…
I finished my beer quickly, and obviously felt nothing. I went to the 'bar' they set up and walked up to the bar keep, a asian teenager in a hoodie with the words 'Street Rat' stitched onto his sides.
"Hey man, you got anything stronger?" I asked him motioning to the empty cup.
The teenage thug raised an eyebrow, "what do you need?"
"Anything with a strong kick," I shrugged, "I'm going stag tonight so I might as well have some fun."
The kid snorted before slamming a bottle of vodka, "this strong enough for you?"
I sighed, "nothing better man? I have kind of a strong resistance."
"Sorry man," he shrugged, putting the bottle away.
"Thanks anyway," I sighed great, alone and I can't get drunk. Maybe I should just leave, if I hurry I can still patrol the streets for a while, do something useful tonight. But before I could leave, a girl walked up to me, a smile on her face.
"Couldn't help overhearing your little difficulty," she said with a salesman's smile. She wore a hoodie similar to the asian bartender, 'Street Rat,' that some kind of gang? She had black skin but bleach blonde hair with pink streaks running through it.
"Ah, yeah, kind of sucks," I shrugged.
"Well, I got something you might like," she pulled out a plastic baggy with a pink pill in it.
I raised an eyebrow and put on a good poker face, looking interested, like a druggy would, "cool. What is it?"
"The newest shit," she replied, "we call it the 'Rumble in the Jungle' or RJ, because one hit and you go down."
"Like Muhammad Ali," I nodded.
"Smart, so you interested?"
"How much?"
"First hit's free," she smiled as she leaned forward placing a kiss on my cheek as she slipped the pill into the pocket of my vest. She moved back and winked, "see you soon cutie."
I smiled back, "I'm sure," she walked away and immediately my smile dropped. I took out the pill and held it in the light, I couldn't see anything inside, not liquid then, solid, probably affecting the body's nervous system someway.
And then, I realised it. Sometimes you don't see something unless you know what to look for and now, I did. The pills were everywhere, almost every three people in a group of ten was taking the pill and these Street Rat kids were giving them out.
I was supposed to take a break and have fun tonight, but, since everyone abandoned me, it's time to get to work.
I slipped into the mosh pit and followed the Rat kids, following their footsteps, their movements. In minutes I had located the head dealer, a buff 40 year old bald guy that had a gun strapped to his back and a very scary precencess.
Every dealer on the floor reported to him, passing every dollar they earned, he was the head, these kids were just...fodder. I suspect they weren't really gang members in the first place.
I followed them for some time, tracking their movements. But ten minutes later, I got distracted. "Hello Catch! We're the Extremes! And we're going to rock this house down!" I turned and to my shock I saw MJ on the stage with Mark and his friends.
"Kick it!" Mark screamed as they began to play.
"Everyday, they tell us what to do, every night, we have nothing to look for but school, fuck that, it's all a pain, there ain't nothing they can do now, we're free, even just for a day!" MJ began to sing, hitting every note. Hm, maybe in this world she'll end up a singer?
Slowly, the crowd began to shit, the other band that was applying was thoroughly beaten, I had to admit, Mark was pretty good. He and MJ made a pretty cool team. I was getting into the song as well, but then, I realised there was movements in the Street Rat's.
I noticed slowly one by one the dealers began to leave, sneaking away quietly. And then, the big one left as well. I needed to go, it was too late to go into my car and take my spare costume, time to improvise.
The big guy and five older looking Rat's snuck out into a side tunnel making their way out. I ran after them, sticking to the shadows. I need a mask, so I removed my vest and tied it around my face, leaving a little bit of space for my eyes to see through.
The six men I was following went into a service tunnel, talking among themselves. I jumped onto the ceiling and stuck to the ceiling, following them from above.
"The new blood did good," the big guy replied in a gruff tone, "make sure to give them a cut."
"You really think that's a good idea boss?" and underling asked.
"Like I always say Tony, keep your underlings happy, and they won't stab you in the fucking back," the fat leader said gruffly.
"I'll keep that in mind," I whispered as I jumped down.
"What the-"
I came down on top of his body, my feet plunging into his gut, throwing him into the ground, hard. I back flipped and landed on the other two guys behind them, all three of crashing into the ground.
"Get him!" the two standing thugs took out knives and charged at me. But I was already on my feet and moving. I swung my legs like whips, kicking one's arm so hard he dropp his knife, and I heard a crack, something broke.
"ARGH!" he cried out, dropping to his knees, holding his arm in pain.
"Tony!" the other guy shrieked, I threw a punch at his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out from pure force.
"Die!" one of the man I fell on yelled.
My spidey senses kicked in, I ducked just as he fired off three shots, the bullet sailing over me. I rushed forward, punched his gut, slapped away the gun before grabbing him and throwing him into the last gangster standing, throwing them both into the tunnel wall.
"Argh," the fat man I kicked in the gut groaned in pain as he held his stomach. I knew nothing was damaged too badly, he was just a lot of pain. I walked up to him and placed my finger on his head.
I channeled bio-electricity through my fingers directly into his skull, just enough to knock him out. In a second he dropped down, unconscious. I got up and turned around, seeing the last gangster still concious.
"Please! Don't kill us! We'll give you anything!" Tony cried out, "drugs! Money! Anything, please just," I tapped his skull, a little blue flash and he too fell down just the same.
I took off my impromptu mask and unruffled it, dawning my vest once more. I stretched my neck and turned around to leave, only to stop dead in my track as I looked at a teenage girl with long blonde hair in a beanie staring wide eyed at me.
She wore a loose fitting jean jacket, a black and white striped undershirt, a short denim skirt with black leggings and worn brown boots.
She blinked. I blinked. She looked at the people unconcious around me. I looked at her bright blue eyes slowly widen as she turned back to me and squeaked, "ep!"
"Please don't scream!"
"AH!" she cried out, turning around and running away as fast as she could.
"Shit," I rushed after her, running as fast as I could before quickly catching up to her. I jumped over her and landed in a squat, blocking her path.
She stopped so suddenly she tripped and fell on her back, she began crawling away, holding a hand out defensively, "don't hurt me please!" she cried.
I blinked, "I won't," I said slowly, surprising her, "please, don't run away. I won't hurt you."
She blinked looking back and turning to me, "those men back there, you killed them."
"Ah, no, they're just knocked out," I told her slowly, "they're perfectly fine. Well, other than a few broken bones."
"Ep!"
"Which I won't do to you!" I replied immediately, "I swear!"
"Why did you hurt them?" she asked.
"Well...they were drug dealers," I said slowly, "they sold kids drugs hoping to get them hooked. So...well, so I beat them up."
She looked confused, "wait...so you beat them up because they sold drugs?"
I nodded, "yeah."
"...are you trying to be a superhero or something?" she asked raising an eyebrow, "why would you risk your life like that?"
"Well," I offered her my hand, she cautiously accepted it and got on her feet, "my uncle and dad have a saying, with great power comes great responsibility. I do my best to live up to that line. I saw someone doing something wrong, so I stopped them."
"But why? Why do you care about the kids they get hooked on drugs?" she asked curiously, looking me up and down, "you look pretty well off. Why do you care so much?"
I chuckled, "because if we don't care for other people we tend to live shit lives."
She was taken back by that, I could tell. She looked...well, curious. She looked at me, "I...I'm Tandy," she said in a quiet voice.
I smiled, "heya Tandy, I'm Peter, nice to meet you."
"Yeah..." she looked back, "you know...they don't just target kids in parties."
I was immediately on alert, "what do you mean?"
"Well...ah, a few us of homeless kids see them come around, offering free samples," she spoke slowly, was she afraid of me still? Yeah, probably, "t-they hurt a lot of my friends and...they..."
I smelt guilt and shame. "Tandy," I held her palm with both hands, gently caressing it, "did they hurt you?"
She nodded, slowly raising her right sleeves to show a black and blue bruise. I felt hate for those Street Rats, pure unfiltered hate.
"I-I tried to stop them, but t-they didn't like that. A few of my friends were forced to join, if they didn't...the Rats said they would kill us."
I felt my anger escalate, but my eyes were glued to hre bruised hand. It had swollen up many times over. "Tandy, that looks bad. Doesn't it hurt?" I asked.
"Yeah, but, I mean, what do I do?" she gave a sad smile, "it's way too expensive to have it treated."
I sighed, "come, I'll help."
"What?"
"Come," I motioned, "I'll get you sorted out. I have the cash."
"Y-you don't have to-"
"-If you want, you can think of it like a bribe," I winked, "I'll help you, and you promise not to tell anyone you saw me kicking butt. Okay?"
She blushed, giving a shy noddy-yeah, okay."
"Great...do you know how to get out of here?" I chuckled, "I'm kind of lost."
"I-it's this way," she pointed and we followed.
"So...what were you doing here anyway?" I asked the girl as we quickly reached the exit, the tunnel leading to an abandoned subway terminal.
"I-I was trying to find some place...some place to sleep," she replied, looking away, ashamed.
"I see...why did you runaway?" I asked as we reached street level, ah, I recognize this road, I'm parked not so far away.
"My dad left and my mom...she remarried. He won't...he wasn't the nicest of people," Tandy held her hurt arm with a tight grip, I'm guessing she didn't only get beatings from her dad.
"Don't you have someone you can stay with? An aunt or uncle?" I asked her.
"And uncle but...he would make me go back to my mother," Tandy looked down in shame.
I wanted to question her choice, but one look at her and I knew she wasn't a very strong person. I sighed, we reached the parking lot, my car there, "right, come on, let's go."
"What?" she asked in surprise as she looked at my car, surprise seen in her eyes as she saw it. Her jaw dropped, "y-you have a DeLorean?!"
I grinned, "damn straight. You like?"
"This is so cool!" she cried out as she and I got in. she looked around, "this looks so cool! Did you customize it?!"
"Yup," I nodded, "Doc, the nearest open hospital please."
"What? Who are you talking too?" Tandy blinked.
"You got it boss" Doc replied as the car came alive on its own.
"Ep!"
I laughed as I took it out, "sorry about that. That's Doc, my car's AI, he's handy."
"A-AI?" she blinked, "you mean, he's a machine? You're car is alive?!" She turned to me with eyes as wide as saucers, "are you like super rich?"
I chuckled, "no Tandy, I'm just super smart."
"Where did you get all this?"
"I built it," I shrugged.
"All of it? By yourself?" she asked sounding shell shocked.
"No, I had help," I nodded, "cars aren't my expertise, my friend is more of the motor head then me. So he had a few suggestions."
"This is so cool!" she said in an excited voice, "ah, can I ask it something?"
I shrugged, "go ahead."
"Hey ah..."
"Doc," I supplied.
"Right. Hey Doc, what's tomorrow's weather going to be like?"
"Sunny, with a chance of rain in the night," Doc replied.
Tandy squeaked, "this is so cool!" I watched with mirth as she played with the settings, asking him silly mundane questions over and over again. It was like a child discovering colours for the first time, amusing to see.
We reached the hospital quickly and I took Tandy in, though she looked unsure. It seemed the moment she stepped out of the car th carefree attitude she had vanished, replaced with a more somber and shy tone.
We asked to see a doctor and waited for ten minutes before we were called in. We were taken to a medical exam room where Tandy sat on the examination chair and I stood next to her, waiting for the doctor.
"T-thanks Peter," Tandy replied suddenly.
I shrugged, "it's fine."
"No really...thanks," she repeated, "it really does hurt," she whispered. Yeah, those Street Rats are dead.
Just then the door opened as a woman with dark skin and hair walked in. Immediately, I recognized her, she looked at us and smiled, "hello, I'm Claire, what can I help you with?"
I smiled, Claire Temple, wow, I didn't realise it, but the party was near Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. So of course this would the best and closest hospital available.
"Hey, she needs a full examination," I motioned ot Tandy who looked surprised by my request, "she's been living on the streets and has a fracture on her right arm."
Claire's eyes shot open, "are you serious?" She immediately went to Tandy's side. The girl tried to move away, but Claire had already lifted her sleeves showing her bruise, "this looks back. You're going to have to leave, you, take off your shirt."
I nodded, Tandy looked like she was going to panic, but the girl needed a thorough examination. I left the room and waited outside. I knew Claire would do her best, the woman could fix superheroes on nightly basis, a girl like Tandy won't be an issue.
And seeing Claire actually gave me an idea. I took out my phone and dialed in Matt's firm's number. The call rang twice before a woman picked up, "hello, Neeson and Murdock's how many I help you?"
"I need to speak to Matt, it's urgent," I told her, probably Karen Page if I had to guess.
"Oh, right, Matt, it's for you," Karren handed the phone over.
"Hello?" Matt asked.
"Hey Devil, it's me, Spider," I whispered.
Immediately tension seeped into Matt's voice, "why are you calling here? This is my work number."
"I didn't have your personal cell," I chuckled, "but, in all seriousness, I'm actually calling because I want to hire you guys. Not for me, but for a homeless runaway. Her step-father's abusive and her mother is neglectful. Think that's enough to put her in a foster home or at least prevent her parents from trying to take custody of her?"
Matt was silent for some time before responding, "yes...yeah, we can manage that. What's her name?"
"I'm working on the details Matt," I replied, "I'll swing by over to your home tonight and drop them. Sound good?"
"Yeah, sounds fine. Midnight."
"Agreed," I replied, closing the phone. I waited then patiently for a few more minutes before Claire walked out, singing as she did. I walked up to her, "is she fine?"
"I put a cast around the fracture, so that's fine. I'm also writing up some painkillers, if she needs them," she sighed, "but...that's not all. She also has several badly healed wounds on her back and a few cuts and bruises. She's...she's been through hell."
I nodded, "she told me as such. Is there something immediately we have to worry about? Any unsettled bones? Anything wrong?"
"So far? No, nothing. She's perfectly fine in that sense, but...damn it. How the hell did this happen?" she asked glaring at me, "did you-"
"-I would never hurt anyone like that," I stopped her with a glare, "never. I brought her here myself, do you really think I would be that stupid."
Claire scoffed, "yeah, I guess. So what? You her boyfriend or something?"
I chuckled, "no. She did me a favour, I owe her one."
"Right...look kid, I don't know who you are or what you're going to do. But that girl needs help."
I nodded, "I spoke to a lawyer friend of mine. He said he'll take her case."
"Fine, whatever, just be safe okay?" she tore of a receipt, "pay at the counter."
I smiled, "thanks Doc," I walked past her and into the exam room where Tandy finished putting her coat over her brand new cast. "Hey. Ready to go?"
Tandy turned to me and glared, "I didn't want that."
"Maybe, but you needed it, come on," I motioned her over as we left.
"I didn't ask for this Peter," Tandy argued, "okay, thanks but no thanks. I don't need someone controlling my life-"
"-I contacted a lawyer friend of mine. He says he can get you away from your step father and mother," I cut her off as I payed the hospital bills. Shesh, 500 dollars just for a cast? Thank God for my healing factor.
"I-I...you what?"
I turned to her, "I called a lawyer. So...if you want, you can fight for your freedom. I'm not in the business of seeing a bad situation and just leaving Tandy. You don't want my help, fine, but, ….do you want your freedom?"
She looked shell shocked, I think I may have broken her. Suddenly her stomach groaned. She blushed red.
I grinned, "drive through?"
An hour later:
I had driven to the top of a parking lot after getting our food. We sat on the hood of my car as we ate, Tandy practically inhaled her meal, swallowing it whole. But then again who knew when it was she last ate.
I slurped my cola and groaned, "damn it, empty." I put the emptied soda bottle next to three crumpled wrappers of the cheeseburgers I had. I looked at Tandy, she had eaten almost just as much as me, two cheeseburger and extra large fries. Not bad for a girl her size.
"So," I said looking at hr put away the last of her fries, "did you makeup your mind."
She looked down at her food and then at me. The moonlight we got from the crescent moon made her seem almost...glowing. Strange...I don't think someone could be this...bright...huh.
Finally, she spoke, "Peter...why are you doing this?"
I raised an eyebrow, "I told you didn't I? Great power, great-"
"-Responsibility, yes I know but….why? I have never met a guy like you. You're so...calm, collected and...kind. I don't think people are supposed to be this kind."
"Believe me Tandy, I'm cruel when I want to be," I chuckled, "there are plenty of people who would call me the devil."
"Then that's because they deserve it," she shot back, "I know it Peter, You're the nicest guy I know. And...why are you trying so hard with me? I'm nothing special, I'm no one. I'm...I'm just me."
She looked away, looking ashamed. I smiled, I reached up and patted her head, ruffing it gently, surprising her. "Tandy, you may not be special, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try and help you. The truth it, none of us are special. There's always someone better than us. Allways. But, that sure as hell doesn't mean we shouldn't try and help each other out. Hell, if that's the case, th Avengers wouldn't try and help us, they would have joined Loki to enslave us."
Tandy looked at me and suddenly moved forward, wrapping my midriff in a hug. "Thank you," she whispered.
I patted her head, "no problem," I hugged her back for as long as she wanted, times like this, you should never break the hug, because you don't know how long they other one wants to hug.
Finally, she broke the hug and looked at me, smiling, "thanks Peter."
I smiled back, "you're welcome. Now...you never told me...do you want to be free?"
She nodded, "y-yes. If you can."
"Alright then. But first, you never did tell me you full name."
"It's Bowen, Tandy Bowen," she smiled.
"Alright then Tandy Bowen, I'm Peter, Peter Parker," we grinned once more. Huh, this night turned out better than I thought.
That night:
It was around eleven in the night when I pulled into the driveway. I opened the door and Tandy and I walked in, the dining room lights were on.
I walked in, motioning Tandy to stay back. I found Ben and Richard awake, the former doing his taxes, which I would eventually have to redo, and the letter reading a book on economics.
"Hey guys," I called out gaining both their attentions.
"Oh, Peter, you're back early," Richard knotted, "don't parties usually last till early morning?"
"Yeah, well, something came up," I shrugged, moving aside to let Tandy come forward, "this is Tandy, she's a runaway and I'm helping her get away from her parents. Is it okay is she stays here for a couple of days? She can use my room, I'll sleep on the couch."
Ben and Richard were speechless.
At midnight:
It took little time to convince Ben to do it. And like ushal Richard was a stick in the mud. But I suppose he can be forgiven, it is an odd request. It actually got so bad Richard and I began yelling at each other. And Tandy immediately offered to leave to stop the fighting.
This caused Richard to eventually give in and accept her, though he told me she could only stay for a week, and no longer.
I got my room ready for Tandy, even prompted her to take a shower and change into a set of clothes. But since she didn't have her own, she used mine. I was form when Peter Parker still had control of this body, black, red and brown plaid shirt a size bigger than her frame and a pair of black shorts.
After getting her to bed, and the rest of the house tucking in as well, I changed into my costume and took off swinging to meet Matt.
I found him waiting on the roof of his building, suited up in costume. I landed before him, "hey, sorry I'm late."
"Just by ten minutes, it's fine," the Devil of Hell's kitchen shrugged, "how is the girl doing?"
"She's feed and has a bed. I took her to the hospital and had her checked up," I shrugged.
"How did you...she knows you're real face?"
"Yes," I blinked, "oh right, you don't do you? But then I again, I doubt someone's real face matters for a man like you."
"Ture," Matt nodded, "did you get her personal details?"
I handed him a flash drive, "it's all in that. Birthday, name, address, everything she could tell me, and everything I could find out after I had someone hack into the government's database. She's also willing to go into court and convict her father if she has too...though the last part took some time for me to convince her."
"I see," Daredevil nodded putting the drive away, "good job Spider. I'm surprised you're taking such interest in this girl...is sh someone you know?"
I shook my head, "nope. Oh, and before I forget, here," I took out a wad of hundreds and placed it on his hands.
Matt sniffed the notes and immediately identified them, "Spider, you just handed me ten thousand dollars."
I whistled, "damn, you should be an accountant. Heh, a blind accountant, won't that be rich."
"Spider..."
"Relax, I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering. I do have a day job you know. I actually do pretty well for myself." Not half a billion dollars well, but well enough.
"And this money is for….?"
"For her case fees," I told him.
"That isn't necessary, I'm more than willing to do this pro bono."
"That's nice Matt, that's one of the reasons I like you. You're willing to do work for the poor even when you're at risk. But, I don't need you to do this for free. If you want, say that it's pro bono, but take the damn money Matt. You do good work, and I want to do what I can to make sure that keeps happening."
Matt sighed, "fine… how do I contact you?"
"My number's in the flash drive," I smiled, "by the way, when you do meet me without our masks for the first time, don't freak out, okay?"
Matt smirked, "why? Are you disfigured?"
"No. I'm younger than you would think," I shrugged.
"Who much?"
"Sixteen," I replied.
"S-sixteen?" Matt hissed, "you're just a kid!"
"A kid that stopped an alien invasion and fought off six of the deadliest villains New York ever faced. Oh, and let's not forget I saved the president of the United States of America from a terrorist organization of fire breathing veterans. Am I missing something my handicapped friend?"
Matt was quite for a moment before he shrugged, "fine. I'll handle it."
"Right...hey, do you know anything about the gang known as the Street Rats?" I asked.
"Yes. They operate just Southeast of Hell's Kitchen. Why?"
"They pissed me off. I'm want to break some bones. Do you happen to know where they hang out?"
Matt smirked, "yes. I'll show you."
"You want to come along?" I asked in surprise.
"Of course," he stepped on the edge of the roof, "I'm itching to let off some steam too."
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