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Two months later
An orange Audi pulled up in front of the Avengers compound. Tony Stark hopped out the sports car dressed in a simple shirt and bomber jacket and his name brand sunglasses. He looked at the Avengers logo and sighed, taking off his glasses.
Tony then went inside to visit his buddy, James Rhodes.
"It's just the first pass," Tony said as he has Rhodey lean on him.
Tony designed and made a walker to help Rhodey with, well, walking. No, it's not one of those grandma walkers that has tennis balls, but a sophisticated one that is more of a brace for his legs than anything. It's a cool black metal with blue lights at the joints.
"Yeah," said Rhodey as he clung onto Tony's shoulder and the metal bar to walk.
"Give me some feedback, anything you think of. Shock absorption, lateral movement," he listed off. "Cup holder?" he suggested with a small smile.
"You may wanna think about some AC down in-" Rhodey's sentence gets cut off when he fell as the metal bar ran out of bar. He caught himself before he could faceplant.
Tony offered his hand. "Here. Let me help you."
"No. Don't help me," he refused, putting his hand up to stop Tony. He rolled over to sit on the ground, a light layer of sweat on his face. "A hundred and thirty-eight. A hundred and thirty-eight combat missions. That's how many I've flown, Tony. Every one of them could've been my last, but I flew them. Because the fight needed to be fought. It's the same with these Accords. I signed because it was the right thing to do. And yeah, this sucks. This is, uh, this is a bad beat. But it hasn't changed my mind. I don't think." Rhodey looked up at Tony with a small smile.
Throughout when Rhodey was speaking, Tony listened. He offered his hand and pulled his best friend up. "You okay?"
"Oh, yeah," Rhodes panted a little, the sweat rolling down his forehead.
Knocking is heard on the window. Both men look over to see an very old man with a mustache dressed in a FedEx uniform holding a package. "Uh, are you Tony. . ." the old man read the labeling on the package again "Stank?"
"Yes, this is Tony Stank," Rhodey assured with a grin as he pointed at Tony. "You're in the right place. Thank you for that!" Tony rolled his eyes at his friend's words. "Never dropping that, by the way. 'Table for one, Mr. Stank. Please, by the bathroom'."
Tony chuckled at his friend's antics, amused by it all. He then took the box from the old man. His mind had a spark of a hint of recognition, but he just can't place it. He took the box to his office and the compound and opened it.
Inside the box was a letter and phone. He read the letter first.
Tony, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours. Maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was eighteen. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the Army. My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down.
Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents, I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself. And I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I hope you can take care of the kid I picked up. I guess I have a soft spot for them. And I think you do too.
I wish we agreed on the Accords; I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should. So no matter what, I promise you, if you need us, if you need me, I'll be there.
"Priority call from Secretary Ross," FRIDAY told Tony. "There's been a breach at the Raft prison."
"Yeah, put him through."
"Tony, we have a problem," Secretary Ross' voice came through the speaker.
"Uh, please hold."
"No, don't-"
Tony clicked the hold button.
A small knock sounded at the office door. Tony glanced up to see a small blonde teen standing in the doorway still wearing her suit. "Shouldn't your name tag say Stank?" Gwen asked.
"Lemme guess: Rhodey?" he sighed.
"Rhodey," she confirmed.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Aren't you supposed to be resting? Or do I have to force you."
"I would be able to escape."
"Shall we find out?"
"I'd rather not."
"Scared?"
"No, just wise."
Tony didn't know what to do when it came to children. His only experience so far was with Spider-Man and even then, the time he spent with the kid was very small.
Gwen didn't know what to do either. She's been in this universe for a little over a day and so far, she's already been knocked unconscious and taken to prison. This has got to be a record for her. No, it definitely is a record for her. The only time she had ever been close to going to prison was when she accidentally sneeze-shot web at her dad's face and he mockingly threatened to take her to prison.
Tony looked at the blonde girl in his office's doorway. He's still pretty awkward when it came to interacting with people who were female and couldn't spend the night with him. When it came to things like that, it was quite easy for him, natural some might say. Point is, he does not know what to do when it comes to children in general.
"Can I ask you something?" Tony broke the weird silence that had fallen over them.
Gwen blinked in shock. "Uh, pretty sure you're gonna ask me either way," she said, shrugging.
"True. Why did you save Spider-Man? Twice, actually."
That simple question has been swimming around Tony's mind for the last day. He already sent the kid back to his Aunt in Queens, but even the kid was wondering that – not that Spider-Man said it out load or anything.
That simple question has been something that Gwen had been wanting to avoid. How was she supposed to explain that she's from another, another universe? She can't just say, 'Hey, so I'm not from here, hence why I don't seem to exist. I'm actually a person who has been to multiple universes. Oh, also, did I forget to mention that the multiverse exists? Whoops, must've slipped my mind.' No, she can't just say that.
Gwen awkwardly cleared her throat, suddenly parched. "Mind if I sit down?" She pointed to one of the leather chairs in front of Tony's desk.
"Pretty sure you're gonna sit down either way."
"True." She sat down on the beige leather seat. "So there's no really easy way to say this, but uh. . . I'm from another dimension," she blurted out, getting straight to the point rather than beating around the bush.
"I know."
Gwen Stacy blinked in surprise at the reaction or lack thereof. "You know? How?"
"Sam."
"Of course. I've known the guy for a day and I already know that's something he would do."
"Stop trying to change the topic. Why did you save Spider-Man."
"Do I really have to answer?" Gwen asked quietly while she fiddled with her fingers.
Tony slightly narrowed his eyes with a quizzical face. "What are you hiding?"
"It's not so much as hiding, it's more of a. . . sore spot for me."
Tony didn't know what to do. You could put him up against any villain and he would know exactly what to do, but put him up against a kid, much less a girl, he's at a complete lost. And to make matters worse, he's treading on thin ice with her reason on saving his favorite arachnid.
Although, that title may be revoked for Gwen. Or perhaps they could share the number one spot.
"So the reason I saved Spider-Man was because. . ." Gwen hesitated. Does she really want to say that? She doesn't want to, because for her, it's still pretty fresh for her, just eight months ago. Tony didn't say anything, just let her continue on her own time. "The reason I saved Spider-Man was because I already lost a Peter Parker, and if I lost another. . . I don't think I could survive."
"How did you know his identity?" Tony harshly demanded. He understood why Spider-Man wanted his identity to be kept secret, with the worry of his family and friends being targeted. So when Gwen said his identity, he got all defensive.
"In my universe, the Spider-Man's identity was Peter Parker. In Miles' universe, his Spider-Man was also Peter Parker. So, I just took a shot hoping this Spider-Man was also Peter Parker."
"You cannot say this to anyone, you hear me? Because if word got out, his life would flip upside down, maybe literally 'cause he's a spider."
Gwen snorted. "Yeah, I know. Why do you think I wear a mask?"
"I'm more out there."
"I've come to learn that. Didn't you tell your identity to the whole world?"
"Yes, I did."
"And gave a terrorist your address?"
"Yes, it was not one of my brightest moments," admitted Tony, a little sheepishly.
"And supposedly you are bright."
"Yes, my IQ would tell you that."
You know how you can feel a sneeze coming? Like your eyes start to close, your nose starts to itch, and you bring your elbow to your mouth. Unless you're one of those people who don't care about germs and just sneeze without covering up. If you are one of those people, please cover up, because eventually, there will probably be a pandemic and it can be blamed on you.
The name of the pandemic you caused will be your first name and your age. Mic dropped!
Yeah, well, Gwen felt a sneeze coming. She brought her elbow up to her mouth and sneezed. And guess what happened? A web shot out her wrist and it was aimed right at a picture of Iron Man.
Tony's jaw fell slightly. "My beautiful painting!" he exclaimed, heartbroken. He rushed to the painting from some famous artist he forgot the name of and looked at the red and gold that was now covered by spider webs. He then swiveled around to look at Gwen. "How did you do that? You don't have cuffs."
"Oh, uh, it just comes out of me," Gwen explained simply with a shrug of her shoulders.
Tony's mind immediately went dirty. "Does it come out anywhere else?" he asked.
Gwen's eyes widened. "Ew! No! That's gross. No, it's just comes out of my wrists. That's it. Nowhere else," she stated.
"Oh." At least Tony had the decency to hide his disappointment, even if it was a bad coverup. "Can you get the webs off me please?" He pointed to the painting.
"Oh, yeah. Do you have my cuffs?"
"In my drawer."
"Why is it in your drawer?" asked the blonde as she went behind the desk. She opened one of them and her eyes widen. Oh how she wished she never opened that.
Tony winced at the look on her face. "Other one!" he yelled out, but it was too late. She already saw it.
"Kinda figured. . ." she trailed off, shivering at whatever is forever is engrained into her mind. She opened the other drawer and got her white cuffs out. She slapped it on, the metal already surrounding her wrist. She aimed then shot the clear compound out of her left one. It immediately dissolved the webs but left the red and gold painting completely untouched.
Tony looked slightly impressed at the genius of it. "Wow. What was that?" His eye trailed from the painting to Gwen who was still behind the desk.
"It's a solution I made for situations like this."
"Damn, you made this?"
"Yeah, it took a lot of trial and error. A lot of blisters before I got get it safe for human handling."
"I should offer you a job here," mumbled Tony.
"I already have one, thanks."
Interests piqued he asked, "What?"
"Being Spider-Woman. And I have been for three years."
"I should have seen that coming. Also, I've been meaning to ask, how did you get your powers, and name, and suit?"
"Uh, like Peter, I got bitten by a radioactive spider. I got the name from my Peter Parker, who was already Spider-Man, and he made my suit."
"He did a pretty decent job."
"I know right? I said he should've opened up a tailor shop or something."
Tony didn't hear Gwen's comment. "Of course, he's no me, but decent."
"Okay, um, I should probably go rest now," Gwen said, "Plus, I don't want to hear anymore of your narcissistic comments."
"All right, have fun!" Tony waved her off as she left his office. "Well, I think that went well," he mumbled to himself.
"No, it did not," FRIDAY's voice said.
"Shut up or I'll turn you off."
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Tony eventually had to un-hold Secretary Ross; he got an earful for that. Let's just say that Ross doesn't like to be put on hold.
Ross also figured out that Tony took Gwen. He got another earful.
Tony was instructed to bring the girl back to the Raft. He didn't do that, nor did he want to. No, instead, Tony talked with Ross saying that she was only a kid and that she didn't really know what the consequences was. Ross (being the dick that he was) said no and demanded that she be brought back.
Tony said no and threatened to put him on hold again.
Tony then negotiated where he would keep the girl where she could have a normal life. He said that she was only a kid and that she was still young, and naïve. Ross only agreed after Tony said that he would put his best person to watch her.
With a grin, Tony ended the call. "Hey, FRIDAY, call Gwen here."
A few minutes passed before the blonde head of Gwen Stacy popped in. She changed out of her suit and into a pair of jeans, a chunky beige sweater, and white converse. A suit is good for a lot of things, just not for everyday use. "Yeah? What do you need?" she asked with brows raised.
Tony swiveled in his chair, looking very much like Dr. Evil in Austin Powers. The grin on his face was something you'd see in clown mask. "You, Gwen Stacy-"
"Won a car?" she guessed.
"No." Tony immediately shot that hope down. "Can you even drive?"
"Yeah, I got my license like two years ago."
"Ah, right 'cause you're from a different universe. But no. You. . . are going to high school."
"Wait, wait, wait, 'going to high school'?" she repeated slowly. Then a thought came to her which made her furrow her brows. "I already graduated though."
"Yeah, I know, but this universe doesn't. Hell, you don't even exist in this universe. So by law, you are still a kid. And not to mention, physically you are." He gestured to her body.
She glared at him. "Thanks," she sarcastically smiled.
"No problem. I already got everything set up. Like an apartment, identity, things like that. Oh! What is your last name?" he asked, his hands on his computer's keyboard.
Gwen frowned. "You're making a fake identity? Aren't heroes supposed to not break the law?" She sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"Cap did."
"Wow! Shots fired."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Last name. Come on, I don't have all day."
"Stacy," she answered.
Tony stared at her with an 'are you serious' face. "Stacy is a first name."
"I know."
"So you have two first names as a name."
"So does Peter Parker."
"Touché. Birthplace?"
"Manhattan."
"Ah, New York native. I like it. Birthday?"
"October 31."
"Halloween? That's actually pretty cool. Year?"
"1998."
"No, that's gonna work. We're gonna make you born in 2001."
"Then why'd you ask me if you're just gonna make up a new one?"
"Because I can."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "You done asking questions? Or. . .?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you can go," he shooed her away with his left hand, not even bothering to look away from his computer's screen.
Gwen rolled her eyes yet again.
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The apartment in which Tony got for Gwen is. . . it's nice, you know. It has an elevator which will make things easier when it comes to moving. There are many different people around the whole place, walking around, on the phone, or moving, like in Gwen's case. It's set in the middle of Queens, which is nice because Gwen already knows her way around.
Gwen stood outside of the brick building as Happy drove off. He really doesn't like to do his job. Or he just hates kids. Probably the latter.
Sighing, Gwen slung her backpack over her shoulders and a box. The box has nothing in it. Like what in the universe actually would she have? She's been in this world for two months, getting to know Tony, setting up her identity (it's not fake, she checked it out), annoying Happy, things like that.
Her feet padded the hallways and into the elevator. The lousy music filled her ears as she waited for it to reach the floor she needed. With a ding, the doors opened to the seventh floor. She walked down the hall as a woman passed by her. Gwen pulled out the key Tony gave her. She jammed it onto the keyhole and twisted it.
The door creaked open, and she let herself into the bare apartment. She shut the door behind her and her eyes scanned the room. It's completely blank, like a canvas, waiting to be painted on with different colors.
It's simple so far with only a few pieces of furniture like a wooden dining table with a few matching chairs surrounding it, a light blue couch pressed up against the wall, a few white curtains on the windows adjacent to the couch.
And it's mainly bare. . . except for the twenty or so boxes Tony had shipped. What they have inside, is something Gwen can only guess.
Over the last two months, she's been watching some news to try to get herself caught up. She read all about the Avengers and their battles. She watched some of their battles, and she's gotta admit, they aren't half bad at fighting.
Another thing she did was find one of Tony's lab. She didn't blow it up or anything, despite Rhodey's pleading. No, instead she made some more of compound and wowed Tony with her genius. To that she just smiled and flipped her hair.
"Living alone," sighed Gwen. "I guess this is what college was supposed to feel like." She put her backpack on the couch and ventured off into the bedroom and bathroom.
First was the bathroom. The bathroom was one of those kinds where there's an entrance to the living room and another entrance from the bedroom. She flicked the lights on to reveal the white tile and white shower curtain. Apparently there's a theme with the white.
She took the other door and went into the bedroom. A queen bed dressed in white sheets with white curtains. And the theme continued.
The only thing that stood out against the white was a large metal case that was placed on the foot of the bed. With furrowed brows, Gwen walked to the case.
A card sat on top of the case which read:
Took your design and made it better
-TS
She opened the latch. The case opened up to have all sorts of flaps display holograms of all kinds on the left and right sides. However, the main attraction was in the middle.
A black and white suit laid neatly folded up. The pink of the underside of the arms and inside of the hood stood out against the white. If you looked closely, you could see the little detail of the turquoise spiderwebs within the pink.
Gwen gasped in surprise. "Oh my god! This is amazing." Her fingers lightly traced the fabric of the suit as her eyes scanned over the design. "This is beautiful."
A knock sounded on the front door.
"Coming!" Gwen called out. She latched the case together and hid it in the bedroom's closet before she went to the door.
She peaked out the peephole to see a woman in her late thirties with brown hair to match with the brown eyes. Her face was lit up with a grin which made her eyes crinkle just enough.
Gwen opened the door. "Hi," she awkwardly greeted.
"Hi," the woman replied. "I'm May. I saw the boxes and I figured that this is a new place, so I figured I would introduce myself. I actually live a few doors down. I brought a casserole!" She held up a glass dish with a thin piece of tinfoil covering it.
Gwen's stomach grumbled at the scent that came from the dish. "Hi. I'm Gwen. Uh, would you like to come in?" She opened the door a little wider to allow the woman to enter.
"If it's no problem," May softly smiled.
"I mean, you have food so. . ."
"Wonderful!" May entered and set the casserole on the kitchen's countertop next to a letter that had not yet to be noticed by Gwen. "So, Gwen, you just moved here?"
"Yes, I did," she answered from behind one of the boxes. "I would offer you something to drink, but I don't have anything."
"Where did you move from? If you don't mind me asking."
Gwen chuckled silently. "Somewhere very, very far away."
"I know how moving can be stressful. It's hard to be in one place then have your whole life uprooted and brought somewhere completely different. It's like a portal almost. Just dropped somewhere."
"You have no idea," Gwen grinned.
"Well," May announced, "I should let you be to unpack and get settled. All right? If you have any questions, or just need some girl talk, I'm right down the hall." She smiled and made a move to the door.
"Oh, actually, uh do you know where Midtown Science is at? Or Midtown School for Science? Or something like that?" Gwen asked.
"Midtown School of Science and Technology?" May clarified, and she got a nod in return. "Yeah, my nephew goes there. I'll have him wait out here in the morning to pick you up. He'll be your own personal tour guide." May grinned.
"Oh, no, that really is unnecessary. I re-"
"Nonsense. Besides he needs to make new friends and you're a cute girl." She winked with a grin. "Bye!" The door shut with a click.
Gwen stood there, blinking in shock at that woman. "Wow is she energetic. But the casserole." Her nose led her to the glass dish on the kitchen counter, and it's then she noticed the letter.
With a frown, she picked it up and opened the envelope. Inside was a credit card and a piece of paper. The card was black and had the name Tony Stark engraved on it. Gwen's jaw dropped.
He gave her a Black Card.
She then opened the letter.
Gwen Stacy who was born on Halloween,
Yes, it's a Black Card; I'm rich. This apartment if yours, well technically it's mine as I pay for it, but it's under your name. Now, I don't really ask for much in return, just promise me one thing.
Keep our mutual spider friend out of trouble.
I sent Happy to watch over him, but I think we both know his slight dislike for children. Okay, maybe a little more than dislike, but you get my point.
Just keep an eye out on him.
The coolest person you will ever meet,
TS
PS – have fun with the suit and don't ruin it
"Coolest my ass," scoffed Gwen.
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Gwen Stacy thought it would be best to get food. She already ate the entire casserole when she realized she didn't even have water, much less any other food. So with a quick search on her phone (yes, it's the phone she always carries with her. There's a little pocket on the back of her suit to put her phone there and how it has not broken yet still remains a mystery to her) she headed out of the apartment. Of course, she locked it because safety first.
The street of Queens were busy, as was the rest of New York. One of the things that Gwen likes about New York is that there is always activity going on somewhere whether it be a show playing, people at bars of clubs, people driving, people walking together like cute little couple under the snow or the best one – crime.
With New York you can always bet there will be crime happening; it's never ending. That's something Gwen also likes, not the crime part of course, but the reason she gets to be Spider-Woman.
She opened a door with a little ding to a little shop called Delmar's Deli-Grocery. It's small with a large counter that runs the entire way on the left side of the door. A few shelves with assortments of fruits are there with the price tags on the top, labeling each fruit.
"Hi," the man behind the counter said with a smile. He's a little round man with a salt and pepper hair and beard. He wore a really gross patterned shirt that looked like the bathroom tile you would find at a 7-Eleven. "What can I get you?"
"Uh," Gwen looked at the menu behind the man. "Can I get a Number 5?"
"On it!" another man called out from behind the man.
"I've never seen you before. You new?"
"Yeah, just moved here," Gwen answered.
"Welcome to the neighborhood! I'm Mr. Delmar," he, Mr. Delmar, introduced.
"I'm Stacy. Gwen Stacy."
"Nice to meet you Gwen Stacy."
"You too, Mr. Delmar," she smiled and moved away to see the fruit and other food the shop had to offer. She picked up a few granola bars, a few water bottles, a bunch of bananas, and some personal hygiene stuff like toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.
"Number 5 right here," the other man said as he plopped the sandwich on the counter.
Gwen dumped all the stuff on the counter and Mr. Delmar rung up everything. "$16.79 please." She handed him a 20-dollar bill. "Change?"
"Nah, I'm good. Have a goodnight, Mr. Delmar," Gwen said with a smile as she took her bag of groceries out the door.
"You too, Gwen Stacy," Mr. Delmar smiled back.
She headed back to her apartment through the streets of Queens, New York.
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A/N- THANK YOU FOR 200 READS!