Spider-Man and The Lightning Girl | Marvel

Chapter 4

Peter.

Seeing Alex again was amazing. I did feel guilty because I was gone for so long. I missed her so much. I thought I'd lost her forever. The Avengers traveled back to the tower and it all came rushing back. I squeezed Alex's hand harder.

¨I know,¨ She said under her breath.

¨C'mere kid, there's someone I want you to meet.¨ Mr. Stark waved me over. I walked over to him and Pepper. Pepper was holding a baby boy.

¨Oh wow, Mr. Stark! What's his name?¨

¨Peter,¨ He replied.

¨Hm?¨

¨No, his name is Peter.¨ He looked at me, and I swore, for a second, you could see a gleam of pride in his eyes.

¨What? You named your kid after me?¨ I looked at him with disbelief.

¨What can I say, kid? I missed you,¨ Mr. Stark shrugged. And I smiled.

¨Well he's very cute. He looks a lot like you.¨

¨Hey guys? What should we have for dinner?¨ Clint asked from the kitchen. You could hear him rummaging through cabinets.

***

The next few hours went by peacefully. I stuffed my face with delicious food and after dinner we all watched a movie. It was like we were a big happy family. The guardians and Doctor Strange had stayed for dinner. Mr. Stark had called Aunt May to tell her what was going on and that I was safe. She let me sleep in the tower that night, I didn't want to leave Alex's side. It wasn't until I tried falling asleep did I have problems.

My nightmare started like this... I found myself back in the soul stone, trapped and frightened. I was alone, it was just a huge orange abyss. I was confused until I heard a voice that came from no one.

¨Welcome, Peter Parker,¨ It said.

¨How do you know my name? Who are you?¨

¨Hush, Mr. Parker, all of your questions will be answered soon enough. But until then there are some things I want you to know.¨ And suddenly Alex appears in front of me and I'm taken aback.

¨Lex?¨ I ask, confused and scared. But I looked closer and I noticed she was floating and her body was transparent.

¨She isn't really here, Peter,¨ The voice continued. Alex came closer, cupping my cheek with her hand. I held it there.

¨Alex... ¨ I whispered, crying now. ¨What do you want?¨ I screamed to the voice.

¨Now, Peter,¨ The voice said calmly. ¨I have some things to discuss with you first.¨

¨What,¨ I say through gritted teeth.

¨I'm coming for you, Peter. I will break you. Starting with killing the people you love.¨

¨No!¨ I shouted at her as Alex started floating away from me. Disappearing.

¨No!¨ I cried out. ¨Who are you.¨ She didn't answer me. I fell to my knees. A sharp pain stabbed my chest. I looked down but nothing had impaled me. My heart was breaking in two.

¨Peter! Wake up!¨ Alex shook my shoulders. I opened my eyes and saw her sitting on the bed beside me. Tony was pacing around the room, he was on the phone with someone.

¨Oh, it seems he is up now... yea, he's calming down... okay, bye,¨ Tony hung up the phone and made his way over to us. And I nearly puked in Alex's face. I got up and ran to the bathroom, locking the door. I empty my stomach and sit against the wall. I needed to protect them, Ned, MJ, May, Mr. Stark... Alex.

¨Peter?¨ I heard Tony jiggle the door handle. ¨Unlock the door, please, Kid.¨ When I didn't answer he unlocked it himself, with some help from F.R.I.D.A.Y.

¨Alex is worried about you, Kid.¨ He sat next to me.

¨I'm okay, it was nothing. Just got a little sick,¨ I lie.

¨I think it's more than that.¨

¨I had a dream. This voice told me she was going to break me. Starting with killing the people I love.¨ I groan as my stomach churned. I lean back over the toilet and vomit some more. I crumble against the drywall and Mr. Stark pulls me into a side hug.

¨We'll keep them safe, Peter,¨ He reassured me.

¨I'm scared Mr. Stark.¨

¨I know I've got you.¨ We heard a knock on the door.

¨Come in, Lex.¨ Mr. Stark called out. She shut the door behind her.

¨You okay, Peter?¨ She sat on the other side of me.

¨I think so, yea.¨ I looked at her.

¨Good,¨ Mr. Stark said. ¨Imma go back to bed.¨ He left while Lex leaned into me.

¨Peter?¨

¨Hmm?¨

¨Really?¨ She doubted.

¨Yes, my little lightning girl.¨ I reassured her. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and laid my head on hers. As long as I had her I would be okay. I breathed in her lavender shampoo. We stayed there for awhile, occasionally talking and eventually falling asleep together. Mr. Stark found us in the morning and woke us up.

¨C'mon Peter. Time to get up,¨ He whispered.

¨Mmm... ¨ I open my eyes slowly. And I notice that I'm still in the bathroom and I see Alex curled up beside me. We had fallen asleep in here. I got up and gently picked up Alex. It was just now I was noticing how beautiful she looked. Her bleach blonde hair was pale from the moonlight. Her face as peaceful as ever. Even though she was only wearing sweats I saw nothing but beauty in her. Tony held the door open as I carried her to her room. Along the way Alex woke up briefly.

¨Mmm... Peter?¨ She opened her eyes halfway.

¨Shh, my little lightning girl, I've got you.¨ I mumble to her. ¨Go back to sleep.¨ She nodded as if she understood. I laid her into bed gently and pulled her black astronomy themed covers to keep her warm. Alex did always have a thing for space. Her walls were painted black and had posters of famous astronomers plastered all over. I remember her telling me that before this whole Superhero thing happened she planned on working for NASA. Funny how getting superpowers could either ruin everything for you or fill you up with so much joy. But I knew Alex tried to make good out of the powers that were forced upon her. Because I knew she once thought her powers were one of her flaws, added by technology to make her dangerous. I tried to tell her to look at her powers as more of a blessing. So she started learning how to use them for good. Within a month, she became an Avenger. At the time I envied her spot on the team, because it was something that I had wanted forever. But things changed and I realized that there were worse things to be upset about. I kissed Alex on the forehead and left her room, planning on getting some sleep myself.