Family Tree ~ An El Hopper and Peter Parker Story

Chapter 8

Later that night, Peter was sitting in the small dining area of the small cabin he was now living in. From what he knew, Hopper and El were asleep, so he didn't think that they would catch him being awake at this late hour. He was sitting on the chair and staring at his hands, not knowing what would happen now that he was in Hawkins. He didn't know what the crimes were like or if anyone even liked superheroes in the town.

"You come for food too?" Someone said in a small voice from across the room. Peter jumped and looked up, only to see El coming over to him. "Don't tell Dad, but I like eating Eggos at any time of day."

Peter raised an eyebrow at her. "You like Eggos?" He asked. "I mean, I do too, but it's not my go to food when I want a late night snack."

El gave him a disappointed look. "That's what Mike says. He says it's only for breakfast, but I think they can be for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," she said.

"Mike? Who's Mike?" Peter asked her.

"Mike is my boyfriend," El explained. "He found me in the woods one night and took me in. Hid me from bad men. Then I disappeared and Dad found me a month later. Kept me from seeing Mike or any of my friends for 326 days. But then I left to find my mama and then my sister then I saw that my friends were in danger so I went back and reunited with Mike."

Peter nodded at the story, but didn't know what she meant with a few of the things she said. "What bad men? Why were you in the woods?" He asked her. "How did you see that your friends were in danger?"

El sighed and stared at Peter, which made him uncomfortable. Just then, he felt himself lifting off the ground slowly. He freaked out and stared at her, seeing that blood was trickling down her nostril as she smirked at him. She let then dropped him on the ground and he looked up at her, shocked.

"Holy shit!" Peter exclaimed. "You're like a superhero or something! You could be on the Avengers!"

El chuckled and shrugged as she wiped her nose. "I have school. I can't be a superhero. I just want to be a normal girl now that I'm free from bad men," she told him. "They used me for my powers, but I escaped. That's how Mike found me."

Peter nodded at her and gave her a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry about the bad men. I guess we have something similar, huh? We've both been through torture in our lives," he said, looking down at the ground.

El sat down next to him and raised an eyebrow. "How were you tortured?" She asked him.

Peter sighed and played with his hands. "Well, my parents died in a plane crash when I was young. I was then taken in by my Uncle Ben and Aunt May. But my Uncle Ben got shot and I saw him die in front of me. I couldn't save him even though I had the chance to. Then I got an internship with Tony Stark and he became my new father figure, but then he died because of Thanos and then my Aunt May died recently during a hostage situation," he explained to her.

"Wow, I'm really sorry," El said, looking sad. "Wait, you met Tony Stark? He was an Avenger, right?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah, he was. I was inspired to be just like him. When I was little, I always wore an Iron Man mask, even convincing my aunt and uncle to wear it to school. He saved me from drones that I wanted to fight against in my mask. Then one day he shows up at my apartment and offers me an internship and I immediately agreed. We bonded and he became my new mentor and father figure. But he died because of me," he told her.

El looked confused at his statement. "How did he die because of you?" She asked.

"I was one of the half of the universe that dusted away. I dusted away in his arms and he watched me go. I was trapped for god knows how long and then I was brought back. But I witnessed the aftermath of what happened," Peter explained. "I saw so many dead Avengers. Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, War Machine... they were dead. But then I saw Mr. Stark slowly dying. He was reaching for me... I held him and tried to keep him alive... but he died in my arms..."

Peter had broken down crying at the end of the story. El put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, giving him a look of sympathy. "And just when I thought I was moving on, my aunt died. She was shot in the head and I couldn't do anything to save her..." he continued to say as he cried. "I'm so useless!"

"Peter, you're not useless," El said in a soft voice. "I don't even know you that well, but you seem like a great person. You don't deserve this at all. If I had the power to, I would bring them back to life and you would be happy again."

"Thanks, El, But I think it's too late for that," Peter said as he wiped away his tears. He sighed and looked up at her. "I just miss them. All of them."

El patted his back and gave him a soft smile, which he returned. The toaster then popped out some warm Eggos and she made them float over to her. She then handed one of them to Peter, who chuckled and took one. They ate the Eggos in silence, but they still smiled at each other, El wrapping an arm around her new brother.

Peter then stood up from the chair. "I'm gonna try and get some sleep. I've been sleep deprived a lot recently," he told her as he stretched out his back.

El nodded and stood up as well. "Me too. I don't want Dad to catch me awake and eating what he calls 'junk food'" she said as she finished her Eggo.

The two said goodnight to each other and went into their separate rooms. Instead of going to sleep, however, Peter sat down at the desk in his room and looked through his sketchbook of suits. All night, he worked on a new suit that he would be using to help him throughout this new city, just in case no one liked vigilantes, especially the police.

"Why would it matter anyway? I'm the one doing their jobs?" Peter thought out loud.