Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears for Fears
Welcome to your life
There's no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behaviour
Turn your back on Mother Nature
Everybody wants to rule the world
Amara Stark stepped in front of her full-length mirror to admire her suit; she hadn't had the opportunity to wear it in quite some time, so this was an almost forgotten feeling. Nevertheless, wearing her suit had never felt strange or unnatural, so it didn't take too long to adjust.
The black and green suit was tight and fitted, showing off the definition in Amara's muscles. Her headpiece rested on top of her head and covered her face from the nose up, extending downwards to cover her cheeks so that only her mouth was visible. The eye slots glowed where the heads-up display came to life, FRIDAY automatically programmed into it, ready to go.
Amara had always felt that this was her truest form: as the Aura. Saving and protecting the world and its people has always been the path that Amara wanted to take; she has known this for quite some time and this would always continue to be her ambition.
Perhaps this was why she simply could not comprehend the fact that Peter actually wanted to finish school and study further education. He truly wanted to make an honest living for himself, when he quite obviously didn't need to. He could easily find his place among the Avengers - fellow superheroes, just like him - and Tony Stark, the billionaire would pay him a fairly generous salary. But the newbie superhero still wanted to go to college and Amara couldn't figure out why.
But there was certainly no time to think about that as she made her way to her balcony and said, "FRIDAY, notify the others that I've gone out."
"Right away, Miss Stark."
And with that last confirmation, Amara leapt off of the ledge and allowed herself to drop before manipulating the air around her to lift her up, just as she was about to hit the ground.
Amara had always loved flying, it was one of her favourite abilities and the one that she was most delighted about learning all those years ago. Although the circumstances surrounding how she found out she had this ability were less than ideal, but that was a story for another time. It made her feel free, as though all the troubles of the world slowed down and dissipated around her as she could feel the cool breeze through her hair, the sharp drop of her stomach when she let herself fall and that thrill of picking herself back up again.
But she couldn't distract herself today, not when she had an important job to do...
"FRIDAY? The second we arrive, you know what to do. I only want to have to do this once."
"Yes Miss Stark. Don't worry I shall fulfil my obligations."
—————
Peter Parker was tired. And bored. But mostly tired. He had been swinging from building to building since four o'clock and the most interesting thing to happen to him all night was when he saw all the lights on a single street simultaneously turn on for the night and when he looked down, Amara had finally replied to his multiple text messages.
But their conversation was brief and it was over pretty quickly. He didn't want to send another message in case she had fallen asleep - it was already 10 o'clock, after all.
Peter was so beyond bored! He cancelled on Ned for this, too. You could be watching The Empire Strikes Back, right now, but no! You had to patrol the streets when there is nothing to patrol!
Just when Peter was about to turn in for the night, his spider sense warned him of a disturbance not too far from where he was currently standing. Peter quickly pulled his mask back over his head and made his way towards...whatever was going on.
When he got there, though, the disturbance looked like it had been handled. But by who? With what?
As if on cue, someone landed in front of Peter - yes, landed, as in they jumped down from a building and landed in front of him. Peter didn't actually clock who it was for a while. The superhero had a skintight suit on, with a waist cape and headpiece.
Suddenly, Peter shook himself out of his daze. Holy Shit! That's...that's Aura! Peter then proceeded to enter another daze - this time a starstruck one.
"Little late Spider, I already took care of them," she said, and although Peter couldn't see her face, he instantly blushed.
Keep it together Parker!
"I-I was coming over from the other side of town, so I-It took a little longer," Peter was thankful that he was wearing a mask, otherwise Aura would have been able to see the embarrassment plastered on his face.
"I don't believe we've officially met, I'm Aura," she said, holding her hand out for Peter to shake.
"Spiderman," Peter shook her hand for a little longer than he thought he should have, but luckily she didn't seem to notice.
"Do you wanna get out of here?" She asked.
Peter's eyes widened and he let out a tentative, "...sure."
"Great! Follow me, I know a place."
Seeing Aura lift herself up with her powers was even cooler in person, and while watching her in awe, Peter almost forgot that he was supposed to follow her.
—————
They arrived at the top of an office building. It had to have been at least 40 floors high and the view was incredible. Peter stared out across the skyline and could see the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty all at once.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" Peter looked at Aura who was standing next to him, also admiring the scene in front of them, "this is one of my favourite places to come when I'm patrolling. It's so high up, all the noise just, kind of, fades away."
"It's peaceful," Peter agreed.
Aura hummed in response.
They were silent for a few minutes until Peter decided to break the silence, "So...what were you doing in Queens? I've never seen you patrolling around there."
"Uh, I switched from my old patrol route. Guess we'll be seeing more of each other," as she said that, a smile spread across Peter's face and he was once again grateful for his mask.
Before he could stop himself, Peter began rambling, "Can I just say, I'm a huge fan of you. I think you're amazing! And you're so powerful and- and strong and pretty- I didn't mean pretty! I- not that you're not pretty, I mean you are, just that that's not your only quality. Plus I can't actually see what you look like- not that you would be ugly, but- and not that being ugly is a bad thing. But I-I would never consider a girl - a woman - to be ugly anyway because that's diminishing and degrading to all women. But I'm sure you are pre-"
"Let me just stop you, right there," Aura said and Peter cringed at his outburst.
You are such an idiot Peter! She's gonna think you're so weird and she's probably gonna tell the other Avengers! What is wrong with you?!
"I'm sorry," Peter quickly said in an attempt to recover from his less than dignified actions. "I've never talked to a superhero before, so I got excited."
"Aren't you a superhero?" She asked questioningly.
"Well...Yeah, but I've never spoken to another one before."
"Ah... Don't worry, you'd be surprised at how often that happens," she said and Peter was grateful to move past this conversation. Before Peter could change the subject, Aura said, "So, from the sound of things, I'd guess you're just a kid."
"Aren't you a kid, too?" Peter fired back.
"I'm an experienced kid. Now I don't know how long you've had your powers, but you've only been a superhero for, what, a few months? Four, five at the most?"
"I'm a fast learner," Peter said.
"You must be if you fight as well as you do in the footage I've seen." Peter's eyes lit up when he heard the small praise. "I only heard about you a few months ago, so you can't have been around for a long time before that, right?"
"Uh, no, I'm pretty new to the whole... superhero thing, but I'm trying," Peter said, hoping to move onto a topic that doesn't showcase his lack of experience. "You've been doing this for a while, though, right? As in, you're in the Avengers."
She hesitated for a moment, "Yeah, I- I'm an Avenger."
Peter watched as Aura sat on the edge of the building, her legs dangling dangerously over the drop. He couldn't help but think about how much that reminded him of Amara. They would usually have deep talks on random rooftops as well, and she would sit just like that - on the edge. Maybe he could bring Amara up here to show her this amazing view. He would, next time he sees her. After much deliberation, Peter made the decision to sit down next to Aura.
"Was there something that you wanted to say to me? Or ask me?" Peter said, remembering how she invited him up here. "It's just that you called me over here, and, I guess it just felt like you wanted to... say something."
Aura looked like she had been pulled out of deep thought, "Right, I wanted to ask you something. It's kind of random but just think about it. So we patrol similar boroughs as of now, and I thought, maybe I could be your, mentor kind of thing. Show you the ropes, and share techniques and fighting styles. But don't worry, I wouldn't be, like babysitting you, it would be more like a... team-up. What do you think?"
Peter didn't know what to say. Sure, it would be nice to work with someone, to learn how to truly be a superhero, but is that something that he wants? And, will he be able to talk to Amara as Spiderman again when he has a new partner that'll be patrolling with him all of the time? God, he really wanted to be able to talk to Amara as Spiderman - it was the only way he felt confident because she can't see the effect she has on him. No. He couldn't give that up, he couldn't. He would never be able to talk to her like that as Peter Parker.
"I'm flattered, I really am, but I'm not even really looking to be a full-time superhero, at least not yet, and I would hate to think that I'm wasting your time if there are other, more serious superheroes, who could team up with you," Peter said.
Aura thought for a moment, "You don't have to think of this as a 'you can never change your mind ever again,' just think of it as... work experience. Just try it, see what happens."
"I don't know... I think I work better on my own. I'd just be a nuisance to you," Peter said, trying his best not to sound rude, or ungrateful.
"We wouldn't be patrolling together, every day, trust me, I have other things to do and I'm sure you do too, It would just be two? Three times a week? Is that okay?" Aura was really trying to get Peter to agree.
I guess it wouldn't be awful. And I'd still get to patrol on my own, occasionally... I could still see Amara...
"Okay. Yeah, let's do it!" Peter said, trying to sound enthusiastic, but he quickly realised that he didn't have to try that hard.
—————
Amara was smiling as she made her way back home. Not because she had just successfully made Spiderman her crime-fighting partner, but because before their meeting she had told FRIDAY to compare Peter Parker and Spiderman's voice patterns to confirm his identity. Amara knew that superhero obsessed Peter Parker would freak out meeting an actual superhero for the first time. That meant that the cool and confident facade he puts on as Spiderman would break down so FRIDAY could properly analyse and compare the differences between Peter's voice and Spiderman's.
"FRIDAY? What you got?"
"Voice match of at least 96%. Looks like you were right Miss Stark. Would you like me to contact Mr Stark to set up a meeting?"
Amara laughed in relief, she finally had the proof she needed! "Yeah, tell him I'm on the way and I have something big! And add that to my report!"
"Right away."
—————
Tony Stark had just returned home from another successful mission when he received an alert from FRIDAY telling him that his daughter wanted to speak to him.
"Something about her mission, I don't know, her message was extremely secretive," he said to Pepper as they sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.
Pepper chuckled, "Well, she's your daughter."
"You'd think that'd warrant a bit more information out of her," Tony said before taking a long sip of his coffee. "I mean she's not taken completely after me, she shouldn't be able to be that infuriatingly secretive."
Pepper shrugged, "Yeah, give her time. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that a person doesn't spend all their free time around you and turn out normal."
"Thanks," Tony said, genuinely taking that as a compliment.
"Boss? Miss Stark has just entered the building and is on her way to the laboratory. Would you like me to let her in?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Tony said as he got up from his seat. Then he looked at Pepper, "Let's see what's happening."
"Go, don't leave her waiting," Pepper waved him away.
Unfortunately, by the time Tony arrived at his lab, his daughter had already begun tampering with his new work.
"Hey hey hey! What do you think you're doing?" He said while frantically making his way towards Amara.
"I'm fixing your stuff!" She replied without even looking up.
"There's nothing to be fixed! Get your ass up and tell me why you interrupted my coffee break with Pepper!"
Amara laughed at her father running over to her to pick up everything she had touched, just to put it back in the same place again.
"What? You know I don't like people touching my things! That includes you, oh, sweet child o mine!"
Amara laughed as she stood up, backing away from her father's things, "Thanks."
After some time, and a lot of help from Dum-E, Tony finally put everything away and gestured for them both to sit down.
"So, back to your 'something big', what exactly is it?" Tony said, leaning on his hand.
Amara smiled, "Oh, nothing huge, just that I know who Spiderman is and I can provide at least...um, three different pieces of evidence, and I found this new bagel place in Queens, well I found it after school, it's really good, I'll bring some home tomorrow for you to try-"
"Hang on, rewind. You know for definite who Spiderman is? What percentage are we talking here?"
"I would say... at least 98%."
"98%?"
"98%," Amara confirmed, confidently.
Tony looked restless now, "Okay, out with it! Who is he?"
"Not so fast," Amara stopped him, smiling smugly. "First, you have to admit that you were wrong and I can handle solo missions. And I'm smart and talented and amazing."
Just when Tony was about to speak, Amara added, quickly, "And that you promise to send me on more solo missions. Okay go!"
"I was wrong, you can handle solo missions, you're smart and talented and amazing and I promise to send you on more solo missions. We good? What's his name? Where'd he come from?"
"His name is Peter Parker, he's a high school student, one of the smartest in our year - other than me, of course - he's from Queens and he just happens to be a friend of mine."
"Really?! That's great! Now you can keep a watch on him!" Tony said, smiling.
Amara smile faltered, "Wait? Keep a watch on him?"
"That's always been the missions kiddo, you agreed to it!" Tony said, holding his hands up as of to say this is your problem!
"Well, yeah! I know that, but I just thought, you know, considering how quickly I figured out his identity, you could give the babysitting job to someone else. Besides I already told him we can work together as superheroes, so I don't see why I'd need to stay in school. You can give me an actual mission.
"Miss Stark, what do you think an actual mission is, exactly?"
"You know, breaking into Hydra bases, collecting top secret info, the kind of thing you do, like you did today," she said.
"So throwing yourself into danger? News flash, kiddo, that's not a mission. A mission is anything you can do to help people, just because I'm not throwing you into a battlefield to fight bad guys, doesn't mean this mission is any less important. Besides, I put you in charge of a whole person, that's gotta have some trust involved, right?"
Amara sighed, "I guess so. Maybe I was being annoying. I accepted the mission, I can't just give it to someone else. FRIDAY handed in the report, it should be on your cloud."
Tony clapped his hands together once, "Great! Also it's not really like you had a choice. You only completed half your mission, this is the real part. And Avengers complete their missions, no matter how boring or meaningless it seems."
"Okay..." Amara's turned to walk out of the lab.
"Hey, wait! Your mission might not be finished, but you found out this guy's identity in less than 48 hours. We have to celebrate! What do you feel like doing?"
"We don't have to do anything, let's just work on those FRIDAY lenses, we haven't had the chance lately."
Tony felt his heart warm when his daughter decided she wanted to spend time with him, "Okay. Go get them."