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｡･:*:･ﾟCHAPTER SIXTEEN ｡･:*:･ﾟ
"irrational and over-emotional"
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BASED ON A REALLY CONVENIANT turn of events, Gray and Peter ended up arriving back at the hotel at the exact same time.
Realistically, he was kind of the last person that Gray wanted to see at that moment. After the alley, he had wandered around Prague for a bit with his gigantic opera suit swallowing him whole. He couldn't focus on anything but the ache in his stomach, and he stopped to breathe until that feeling passed. Still, the eyes of the dead watched his every move. Ironic... specter.
Still, Gray knew he wasn't really upset with Peter. He was upset with everyone - and he guessed that Peter technically fell into that category - but the boy didn't do anything wrong knowingly. Gray figured that his frusteration was what was making him so upset.
After all - he was the only one who wasn't stupid. And he didn't mean that in a condescending manner - although it certainly sounded like it. He just felt as if everyone around him was so enamored by the prospect of a "new" Iron Man, that they were completely blind to the old one. The real one. And Gray knew that he was perhaps being irrational and over-emotional; but he couldn't forget Tony that easily. And he couldn't forgive anyone who could.
Plus, Beck was the biggest fucking weirdo in any multiverse. Fine, maybe that part was irrational and over-emotional; but Gray felt the encapsulating urge to punch something whenever he pictured the man's face. And there was something that didn't add up about those elementals either - he couldn't turn his back on that.
He didn't say any of this when he saw Peter. The two just awkwardly stopped in front of each other; Gray stuffing his hands into the pockets of his massive blazer; Peter nervously shifting from foot to foot. It was dark enough that onlookers wouldn't think twice if they glanced at the two; but not dark enough to hide the red on both of their faces.
Gray decided that he didn't want to talk first, but eventually the urge became overwhelming. "Did Mysterio buy you a capri-sun?"
He was trying to break the tension, but the words came out way more hostile than he was aiming for. He was about to backtrack, but Peter spoke up before he had the chance.
"Apple juice, actually." He said with a small smile, and Gray couldn't help but chuckle softly. He crossed his arms tightly across his stomach to try and stablize his nerves, and inhaled deeply before he spoke.
"Um..." he ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Good job back there."
Peter nodded. "You too."
Gray wanted to kill himself. Instead, he just puffed his cheeks out and tapped his foot against the ground. "Okay, fuck this. I'm sorry for being a dickhead, Parker, but I really just don't like Mysterio."
"I get that, Gray." Peter relaxed his stance, the wind ruffling his messy hair. Gray thought he looked cute; with his ruffled hair and flushed cheeks, but he dismissed the thought from his mind the second it passed through. "I'm sorry about... Fury."
Gray knew exactly what neither of them were saying, but he had a feeling Peter did too. He couldn't help but wonder just how Peter felt about the same predicament Gray was facing. Besides, he wouldn't be close to where he was now without Tony. He was his mentor. And no doubt his hero as well.
He just blinked. "Thanks. He's probably listening to us right now, so I'm not gonna say anything that could potentially get me sniped."
Peter laughed, and Gray relaxed as he realized that he finally successfully broke the tension. Unfortunately, now he had to follow up. He wasn't sure what to say, so he started walking back to the hotel. Peter fell into step beside him, walking so close that their arms brushed together. "So..." Gray began, forcing himself to speak before he could overthink it. "Are you gonna do it? Go work with Fury?"
Peter scoffed, crossing his arms. "I could never do that." He admitted. "I'm not even a legal adult yet, I don't know how I'm supposed to save the world as a career. I just wanna go to Paris and then university, and then..." he paused, "I don't know. Just be normal."
"Cheers to that," Gray mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "This is the closest I've ever gotten to even a taste of normal."
Peter glanced at him, but Gray had his gaze trained ahead of him. He felt the boy silently willing him to continue speaking, and exhaled sharply to keep his nerve. He hated being vulnerable: it was for losers and young children. And Gray was neither of those things. Still, he knew he had to follow up now, so he did so in a slightly rushed tone of voice. "You know, since I never knew my parents, and had to become some sort of weapon instead of learning like... french and algebra and shit. And then Tony came, and things were good but never normal. And it's not like people even know who I am."
Gray thought for certain that Peter wouldn't know what to say to that. But to his surprise, the boy spoke up relatively quickly. "I always knew who you were."
That earned him a glance, and the boy grinned. "Mr. Stark liked to mention you whenever he would take me on missions. When he first gave me my suit he said that it was like 'if Moreno's had a jazzy older cousin'."
Gray snorted, ducking his head, and Peter bumped his shoulder with his own. "You know, I was kinda a big Specter fan."
"Shut up-"
"Seriously! Don't act like you're not cool. You can move buildings with your mind."
Gray rolled his eyes, but his chest felt lighter and a smile was tugging at his lips. "Don't tell me I'm your celebrity crush, Parker."
"I wouldn't go that far, Ned could still beat me in Specter trivia."
Gray laughed then; leaning his head back as the two came to a stop in front of the hotel doors. He turned to face Peter, his dark eyes bright but his skin creased with concealed worry. "So..." he began, the edge of nerves in his tone tasting foreign on his tongue. "You're not going to go be a big shot with Beck?"
Peter's arms were crossed so tightly across his stomach it was as if he was hugging himself. "I think I'd rather stay here and be normal with you."
Gray's heart beat accelerated so much he felt sick to his stomach, and a stupid smile came over his face as he ducked his head and stared at the grey cobblestone beneath his feet. Smooth. Who knew Peter could be smooth?
The moment was interrupted when the door to the hotel flung open and Mr Harrison gasped; placing a hand on his chest. "Oh thank god!" He exclaimed, a phone in one of his hands, the other being used to pull the two boys inside. "You two aren't dead! What the hell were you doing outside, do you know there's monsters out there?" He demanded, shaking Gray's shoulder. "Grayson! You can't imagine what the exchange student program would do to me if you got killed abroad. I'm so glad you're safe, come inside..."
He didn't stop talking on the phone the whole way upstairs; his words a mixture of rapid-fire English and poorly translated Czech. He would occasionally turn to Gray and ask him the Spanish word for various flight terms, but the boy truly didn't know why the man would need to know what a terminal de aeropuerto was whilst on the phone with the Prague airlines. He left as soon as the two were upstairs, walking off with a wave and a vague shot of "please don't get kidnapped!"
Gray paused, a bit shocked from the sudden change of pace, and turned to Peter with a confused expression on his face. "Did he just ask me what 'Starbucks' was in Spanish?"
"Peter! Gray!" A new voice exclaimed, and Ned ran over to the two with a relieved expression on his face. He was wearing a fluffy white bathrobe - which Gray thought was an odd choice of attire, especially considering that he was just almost killed by fire mutants - and embraced Peter with a sigh of relief. "We almost died!"
"I know," Peter said, Gray feeling an odd twang in his chest as the two pulled away. Peter smiled at his friend, who kept covertly glancing at Gray as if checking for injuries. "But we're done the mission!"
"Dude, the trip's over." Ned said, and Gray felt the familiar annoyance brew in his stomach.
"What?" He snapped, his tone harsher than intead, and Ned jumped slightly; turning to him with a sheepish smile.
"There's monsters coming out of the ground, of course our parents want us home."
Parents... shit. Gray hadn't checked his phone in hours, and he was sure Pepper would have a few choice words for him once he got ahold of her. He hoped she wasn't worried, and shit he never got the chance to pick up Morgan a gift before-
"We came for science, we're leaving because of witches!" Mr. Dell exclaimed, his presence actually making Gray jump as the older man pointed at him. "You make sure you stay safe, you don't get as many monster attacks as we do in America-" he patted the boy's shoulder, before whirling around and shouting over his shoulder as he walked away; "welcome to the new Dark Ages!"
Gray paused, allowing silence to settle once again, before shaking his head. "Wow, okay."
"What's going on?" Peter demanded, and Ned shrugged.
"We're leaving in the morning."
"No, no, no- all of the Elementals are gone!" Peter exclaimed, hitting Gray's chest with the back of his knuckles. "Tell him, Gray!"
"Right, we blew that bastard up."
"Exactly!"
"Ned!" Betty's voice floated over to them, and the boy's face lit up.
"Coming, sweetie!" He shouted, before shooting the two boy's an apologetic look as he shuffled away. Gray watched him go with a perplexed look on his face.
"That kid is so weird."
A door behind them creaked open, and Flash poked his head out of it. "Can you guys keep it down? I'm live streaming."
"Live streaming..." Gray repeated after the door was firmly closed again, a million questions racing through his head. He had no chance to voice them, however, as Peter turned to him with panic in his eyes.
"This is a disaster!" He exclaimed, groaning and burying his face in his hands. "What happened to a normal trip?"
"Not possible with me around," Gray teased, patting the boy's arm awkwardly. He shrugged, diverting his gaze to a Renaissance painting mounted on the wall. "At least I'm a hot weapon."
Peter huffed, running an anxious hand through his hair. "Gray... I need to confess something, and I don't think you're gonna like it."
Now that caught his attention. Gray leaned forward, raising his eyebrows. "What? Did you do something stupid again?"
"It doesn't really seem stupid." The shorter boy nervously averted his gaze, and Gray grabbed his arm.
"Parker, I'm sure nothing you do seems stupid at the time."
"Fine." He gritted his teeth together. "I sort of... you know those glasses Tony gave me?"
An indistinguishable emotion shot through Gray's chest. He wasn't sure if it was anger of sadness; but it caused his eyes to widen and his cheeks to turn red as realization made his muscles tense. "You gave them to Beck."
His silence was answer enough. Gray let go of his arm, wanting to turn his back but unable to. He felt the stiffness in his chest again; grief as he felt Tony slip away from him, and took a second to remember how to speak. "You... why would you-?"
"I told you, I can't be the hero, but Beck can!" Peter exclaimed in a whisper-shout, and Gray blinked, dumbfounded.
"We don't know anything about Beck! We don't know if we can trust him, or if-"
Another door swung open, causing the two boys to fall into quick and tense silence as MJ pursed her lips and leaned against her doorframe. "Hey."
Gray was still in an odd state of shock; trying to wrap his head around Peter giving away the last memento Tony left for him to a freak with a fishbowl over his head, so it was the Parker boy who spoke. "Hi."
The dark-haired girl blinked, no readable emotion on her face as she scrutinized the two. "Where were you?"
"We... got lost."
"We were worried."
"Oh..." Peter blanched, his gaze drifting between MJ's calculating gaze and Gray's rapidly-reddening face. "Um-"
The boy finally fell back to reality, whirling on his heel. "I have to go pack."
"Your room's not that way-" MJ called out, but Gray barely heard her, thundering down the stairs as fast as he allowed himself to go. He felt pressure building beneath his joints; seething to his core at the idea of Beck holding Tony's invention. Using it as if it was made for him. As if he was even a part of the equation.
He shoved the door open, inhaling the night air as if it would somehow calm him down. He couldn't breathe properly- his skin hot as if he was still facing the lava monster in the square. He put his hands to his head, feeling his eyes burn and his chest heave for air. How could this be happening? How could that random man swoop in and suddenly be worthy of Tony's legacy? How was that fair?
He turned to the side with a yell, lashing his hand out. A stone pillar next to him crashed to the side, the broken fragments shattering against each other and plummeting into the river below. The pain behind his head numbed; and shock lashed into his chest as he stared at the collapsed pillar. He knew he should be panicking - or at least worried, but all he felt was a single tear slip past his eyes. He cursed loudly, kicking the fractured stone on the ground, before grimacing as pain shot up his foot. "Meirda!"
He felt a hand on his arm and jumped; stumbling to the side. He registered Peter's face, and relaxed; before immediately feeling panic settle in his stomach as he registered another face staring at him.
All of the blood had drained from MJ's face, but she still seemed surprisingly calm as she regarded the scene in front of her. A million excuses flew through Gray's head - as well as a million questions. How much did she see?
"You're that Avenger from the attack in New York." She said it as if it was a fact. Gray swallowed, turning to look at Peter. He was grasping at straws; straining his mind for words that could somehow make this okay.
"Um-" his voice was so soft it may as well have been a whisper; burnt out from hours of relentless grief and anger. "I- I don't-"
She whirled toward Pete next, pointing an accusatory finger at his chest. "And you're Spider-Man."
The boy blinked slowly. "I'm... I'm not Spider-Man."
Gray coughed, shifting back and forth on his feet as his stomach tore itself to shred. "I- who's Spider-Man?"
MJ blinked, placing her hands on her hips. "I mean... it's kind of obvious."
"What?" Peter said, incredulity evident in his tone. His eyes kept drifting between the two, his words coming out flustered as Gray focused his energy onto not blowing up another pillar. In a way, he was relieved. At least it was only MJ who saw. It could've been worse. It could've been Flash-
"I'm not..." Peter placed a hand on his chest, looking at Gray as if he would provide moral support. "I... why would you think I'm Spider-Man?"
MJ actually laughed then; a disbelieving scoff that helped bring Gray back to reality more than the deafening crash of a stone pillar. "Come on, Peter, Washington? The fact that you like, disappear out of nowhere, for no reason?"
"I... No, I was sick-"
"You know, Susan Yang thinks you're a male escort."
Gray did laugh at that, but it felt weird coming out of his mouth and sounded more like a cough. He placed his hands on either side of his head. "Oh my lord, this can't be happening-"
"Of course I'm not a male escort!"
"Then you're Spider-Man."
"No! I'm not Spider-Man at all!"
"Then what about tonight?" MJ was more confident now, and walked closer to the pair. "You guys snuck out and fought that thing. I saw you."
"You can't have seen me because I'm not Spider-Man! And also, on the news it was the Night Monkey!"
MJ shot him a look. "The Night Monkey?"
"Yeah!" Peter scoffed, crossing his arms. "That's what it said on the news, and the news never lies."
"Night Monkey..." The girl repeated again, rolling her eyes as she swung her backpack around from off her shoulders and unzipped it; withdrawing a small, mechanical contraption that had been firmly wrapped in familiar webs. "Well, do Night Monkey and Spider-Man use the same webs? And you-" she turned on Gray. "What's your excuse? Who even are you, and why were you lying to everyone?"
He blinked. "I'm..." he gestured to the remnents of the pillar. "I didn't do that. It was the wind."
"The wind?" Her eyebrows shot up so far on her face they nearly fused with her hairline. "Yeah, sure. And Peter's not Spider-Man."
The boy threw his hands up in the air. "I'm not Spider-Man!"
"And I've had a really bad day." Gray kicked another piece of stone. He figured if he couldn't lie his way out of this, then maybe he could at least guilt trip. "MJ..." he took a step closer to the girl, lacing his fingers together and mustering up the most innocent face he could. "You don't know this, but my dad died recently. And I thought that coming on this trip would be a good opportunity to escape from that and reflect on-"
She cut him off. "But you are an Avenger and you did just knock that pillar down without touching it."
Fuck, he forgot that MJ was a freak. Gray took a step back and pointed at Peter, "Peter's a male escort."
"What? No I'm not!"
Before any more excuses could ensue, a loud, high-pitched whine came from the device MJ was still holding in her hands. Blue light shot out from it; causing Gray to jump back, Peter's arm flinging out to grasp tightly onto his wrist. For a brief second, every nerve in Gray's body was on guard; as fog erupted around the three and swallowed their surroundings whole. It rose above them like smoke; flying upwards and merging into the shape of a humanoid being that swiped at them as if it were made of clouds. It disappeared as quickly as it materialized; sucking back into the small device and laying silent on the cobblestone floor.
Gray muttered some illegible words in Spanish as Peter gasped, "what the hell was that?"
Gray inhaled deeply, completely floored from the insane mix of emotions he had felt in the past half hour. He stepped toward the device, kneeling down next to it as it flickered bright blue. "Huh." He mused, "looks like someone ripped the head off of a robot."
Peter made a move as if to pick it up, and Gray swatted his hand away. "Watch it, Parker." He snapped, annoyance at the boy coming back to him at full tilt. "That could blow up at any second."
He picked it up, turning it over in his hands. Peter blanched, obviously resisting the urge to make a comment on that, as MJ took a tentative step closer. "Is that some sort of... projector or something?"
"Must be. But not like something I've ever seen."
"It... it tooked so real."
"Yeah." Peter said, and this time when he looked at Gray the boy was already looking at him. The two were thinking the same thing, and Gray suddenly felt as if he could throw up all over this high-tech piece of shit. "Really real."
"So..." the girl was staring at the device as if it were the answer to a complex math equation. "That means..."
Gray spoke then, his voice an airy whisper that he was sure only Peter could hear. "The Elementals are fake."
"But... but we were there." Peter said, "there was fire, and destruction, and... who would do something like that?"
The device buzzed in Gray's hands, and he felt his heart lurch as the smoke shot out of it once again. This time, he watched in transfixed shock as the Elemental roared to life; lashing out at opposition that didn't exist. This time, however, a sharp green light cut through the gray - and Gray felt his heart drop down into his shoes as he realized that the pieces of the puzzle finally fit together. The Elemental didn't have an anti-Gray defense. It wasn't even there.
"Mysterio..." MJ mumbled as the image dissipated, and Gray turned to stare at Peter with wide eyes and a pale face.
The boy's mouth had dropped open, the two standing in utter shock as they registered the new discovery. Gray felt a small stab of triumph within all of his panic. He had been right. He wasn't an overemotional whackjob. At least, not about this situation. But he realized then, after the thought registered, that he had actually never wanted anything more than to be wrong.
Peter spun around to face MJ. "I am Spider-Man." He said, "and I really messed up."
The girl's eyes flew open. "Wait, seriously?"
"Mhm."
"Like, you're being one hundred percent serious? Because I was only like, sixty-seven percent sure."
"He's not joking," Gray cut in, figuring that the girl could see him be a bit of an asshole if she was gonna know his entire life story within the next ten minutes. He reached his hand out, curling it into a fist and lashing it out to the side with a frustrated grunt; sending one of the broken pieces of the pillar flying out into the water. "The one time I'm right. The one fucking time!"
"So... wait," MJ held up her hands. "Who- who are you?"
"I'm Gray." He shot her a sarcastic wave. "I'm not from Spain. I'm from New York. And I'm so sick and tired of evil people trying to ruin every goddamn vacation I get!"
"This... this has happened to you before?"
"This has happened the same amount of times I've been kidnapped. Which is technically three. Anymore questions? Because if we don't get out of here right now, we're gonna be as royally fucked as that pillar."
Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, grimacing so deeply he looked as if he was in pain. "I can't believe this." He muttered, and Gray turned to shoot him a harsh look.
"Yeah, me either, Parker." He said, before groaning to himself as he turned to stomp back into the hotel.
He knew this wasn't Peter's fault - if anything, it was his. But he had a gut feeling about Beck, and he was right. He only wished they had figured it out before Peter had given him a one-in-a -million piece of human-smart technology.
They really were fucked.
***
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I gave Beck those sunglasses." Peter ranted, pulling the curtains to his room shut as Gray sat on the bed and scowled at nothing in particular. The size of his suit was beginning to give him sensory issues; but he was making a conscious effort to at least semi hold it together. For MJ, if not for himself.
"Wait, so that suit actually belonged to Captain America?" The girl asked, standing off to the side as if he was at a risk of exploding. "I was just joking when I said that."
He stayed silent; stripping off the blazer and throwing it to the side. Peter was still nervous-ranting, pacing back and forth and making broad gestures with his hands. "How could I be so stupid? He's probably watching us right now, or sending a drone to come and kill me-"
MJ gaped. "You had access to killer drones?"
Peter ignored her, whirling around to stand in front of Gray. "Gray, I am so sorry. I should have just listened to you, and instead I totally just went off and-"
"It's fine." Gray said, his face passive and his words eerily calm. Peter froze, seeming as if he would have rather been screamed at, or slapped, or thrown through the window.
"I... what?"
"It's fine." Gray repeated, rising to his feet and unbuttoning the top button of his white shirt. "I'm gonna go to Berlin, and tell Fury that Beck's a fraud." He pulled his shirt over his head, stepping forward to shove it into Peter's arms; leaning forward. "And then I'm gonna come back here, find every single spider that has ever walked the face of the earth, and kill every one of them."
The boy swallowed, "that... that seems fair."
Gray narrowed his eyes, staring as intensely as he could at the boy; as if daring him to say something else. Finally, he did; awkwardly clearing his throat. "I... you know that I'm coming with you whatever you say, right?"
Gray wordlessly tapped his wristbands together, the nanotech encapsulating his figure with a soft "oh wow" from MJ. He grabbed his shirt from Peter's hands, throwing it to the side. "Then suit up, Night Monkey."
Peter practically jumped for his bag, rummaging around for his suit as Gray walked to the opposite side of MJ. "I know this is a lot," he said, softening his voice. "But just so you know, I am also not a licensed professional, so there's a very high chance that this could go horribly wrong."
The girl's eyes flew open. "Why would you say that to me?" She demanded, before poking his chest. "Wow, that thing is really... sturdy."
"Stop objectifying me." Gray cracked his knuckles. "So, basically, if you tell anyone about this, I'm gonna be sold back to this evil lab that kidnapped me when I was a baby and made me into a freak."
She shrugged, "I don't really think it was the lab that made you a freak."
Gray scoffed. He was grateful for how normal the girl could still act under these circumstances. if anything, it provided him with enough consolation to keep him from blowing something else up. "Moreno." He said. "Grayson Moreno. That's my real name. And I came here to keep Parker from doing stupid shit. Like trying to blow up Brad and giving priceless Stark tech to evil lowlifes. Both of which he did almost immediately."
The girl chuckled, "yeah, sounds valid."
"You shouldn't be in danger, but if anyone asks about that pillar-" his voice cut off as his head whipped to the side. He relaxed when he realized that the figure who had walked through the door was just Ned; and shut the door behind him with a tilt of his head. "Ned. Good."
The boy blanched, his eyes drifting over the scene in front of him. Peter had just finished putting his suit on, and flipped his little eye-goggles up at the sight of his best friend. Gray had his mask off; but the black suit was hard to miss. MJ seemed satisfied with the boy's apparent panic, as he started stumbling for words.
"Guys! Nice... costumes! For the - uh - costume party! At the-"
"She knows," Peter cut in. "I told her."
The brunette grinned smugly. "He didn't tell me, I figured it out."
Gray raised his hand. "I blew up a pillar in front of her."
Ned paused. "Oh... oh. That's cool, then."
"Look," Peter cut right to the chase. "Mysterio is a fraud."
Confusion shadowed Ned's face. "But he saved me and Betty's lives."
"He's been faking the thing with illusion tech," MJ explained, Gray smiling in pride at how well she was taking this.
Peter nodded, "he has this hologram thingy."
Gray shrugged, "and if we're getting into technicalities, he tried to blow me up. So I think that cancels out him saving you and Betty."
Ned blinked. "So... have you guys been like, working this case together?"
Gray rolled his eyes, but MJ just shrugged. "It's been mostly me."
"Ned, call May." Peter said, "tell her to call Mr. Harrington and say that she wants me to go stay with family in Berlin."
"Got it. Easy."
"And tell him that I fell off that bridge and died." Gray walked over to Peter, crossing his arms. "Tell him that Peter killed me, and is now on the run from the Prague police."
The boy faltered. "I thought Peter was gonna be visiting family in Berlin."
"Whatever. You chose what sounds cooler."
As Peter flung the curtains open, MJ ran over to the bed and grabbed the projector. "Gray!" She shouted, tossing it over. The boy somehow managed to catch it between his hands, nodding at the girl. "Thanks."
He turned to Peter. "I'm gonna cling to you like a newborn baby. Don't think that means I'm not still mad at you."
Peter seemed as if he wanted to say something, but Gray didn't give him the chance. Instead, he turned and leapt out of the open window. Weightlessness held him for a moment; his ears popping as wind rushed through his hair. Less than a second later, he felt Peter's arm wrap around his middle, and Gray flung his hands around his neck; cursing himself for his need to have a dramatic exit.
And then they were off; the problems they were leaving behind no match for the ones standing right in front of them.