|🕷-28th July 2016-🕷|
|-15:09-|
|-Peter's POV-|
I pushed my way through the New York crowds to my apartment. God, people can be so insensitive.
I lifted my hood over my head as small drops of rain begun to pour down.
I was just outside the building when a shot of pain pierced through my brain.
My Spider-Sense! And it's urgent.
I spun around madly, checking the sky, the paths and the roads.
The roads... where a small child was shoved away from her parents into traffic.
I swiftly held out my wrist, shooting a web towards the girl.
Only nothing came out.
Shit, I'm empty!
I watched the car getting closer to the young girl, who was frozen in her spot, in search of her mother.
Panicking, I lept forward onto the road and wrapped the child in my arms. I rolled away from the spot she'd been in, landing on the opposite side of the road.
I held the kid out infront of me, to check for any injuries, only to see a familiar face.
It was Mariah, Y/n's little sister.
The one who knew my identity.
"Beter!" She squealed, grabbing my face in her tiny hands.
I laughed at her innocent enthusiasm. "Hey, Mariah. Let's go find your mom."
I carefully crossed the road, asking around to see if anyone saw the woman she'd been with.
"Mariah!" I heard, who I assumed to be Y/n's mom, gasp, running over and taking the girl from my arms.
"Oh, thank God, you're okay!" She spoke with a strange mix of a French, Canadian and New York accent.
"Thank you..." She looked up at me, pausing as recognition spread across her face.
"You're Y/n's friend, aren't you?"
"Uh, yeah. Have we met?"
"No, but you sent her a picture. Her little sister - the other one, Georgia - got a hold of her phone and showed it to everyone. Peter, right?"
So that's how she recognised me...
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I am."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Y/n's mother. Oh, I better go, I gotta take this one to her dance class. See you another time, maybe."
I chuckled slightly as she hurried away, keeping a close hold on her daughter.
I flinched as I heard a snicker from the alley next to me. I spun around and saw Nightmare, today sporting ear length black hair and a slimmer masculine figure.
"That was awkward. Good job with the kid though. You just saved her life."
"Well, yeah, anyone woulda done it."
I know I'm also a superhero, but speaking to him without my suit on made me feel weaker.
"They didn't though. You did. You tryna take my job?"
"Uhh, no sir."
He laughed. "It was a joke. And no need to call me sir, I'm not your teacher. Look, I got somewhere to be but, uh," He patted me on the shoulder. "Y'know, aim for the stars and such garbage. See ya." He made a small salute and teleported away.
What the hell just happened?
After a quick conversation with May, I walked into my room, where I saw a small device on my bed.
I approached cautiously. Upon closer inspection I saw a button, with my little Spidey symbol on it.
I tapped it gently, immediately seeing a hologram pop up.
A hologram... of Tony Stark.
He took of his signature sunglasses. "Hey, kid, it's me. Look, I got something for you at Avengers Tower. If you got a second, just come down, gotta get it all measured up. See ya."
The hologram disappeared and I saw a lanyard with my name and a picture of me and Mr Stark.
"Uhh, May? Are we doin' anything today?"
"No, why?"
"Mr Stark just asked if I could stop by the tower. For the, uh, for the internship. Can I go?"
"Yeah. You need money for the bus?"
"No, I got it. Thanks."
After a quick 'bus ride' I was skipping into the Avengers Tower. I definitely stood out among the neat interns and the towering security team.
I headed through several metal detectors until I went into an elevator with the Pepper Potts.
"Hi." She smiled sweetly at me. "Which floor?"
"Oh, I'm, uh, I'm not sure. I'm looking for Mr Stark?"
She chuckled. "You must be Peter, then. It's in the basement. He gave you your key card?"
I dug through my pockets and lifted it nervously. She smiled, before pressing the top and bottom buttons.
"I'd put that around your neck. Lotta security down there. You gotta be level 8+, unless you're Y/n."
I looked at her in confusion. "You know Y/n?"
"She's our head intern. She's a level 6, but every guard in the building knows her. She's the only kid Tony trusts enough to make him a coffee. You know her?"
"She comes to my school. She's really nice."
Miss Potts grinned as the doors opened up. She shook my hand before I left.
"It was nice to meet you."
"You too."
After several hundred more security checks, I walked into Mr Stark's pristine lab, with him in a corner tinkering with one of his suits.
"Mr Parker, there you are!" He gave a thin-lipped smile as I approached tentatively.
"Look, I got an idea. And I want--" He tapped the counter and snapped his fingers-- "You, to help me with it."
"M-Me?"
"Yeah. It's Spidey related." He threw me a blue and grey suit. "Here, try this on, I'm just getting the mask finished."
I caught the suit with ease. He pointed me in the direction of a changing room as he installed the lenses into the mask.
I scanned the colour scheme, which was the only difference I noticed, really. It was only a little bit darker than the colours of Nightmare's.
I stepped out, trying different angles and poses. I tested the flexibility by jumping up and crawling around on the ceiling.
Suddenly, an all too familiar voice came in through the speakers.
Y/n's voice.
"Mr Stark? I got a gift from Miss Potts, can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure, kid."
I fell off the roof. "No, sir, she can't see me in this!"
Just as the door began to open, he grabbed the detached face of an Iron Man suit. It stopped right infront of my face, with the rest of the armour following behind.
She walked in calmly and cluelessly, carrying a plastic bag.
"Hey, sir. Pepper asked me to bring down your lunch."
"Thanks, Y/n. Put it on the desk."
"So, what're you working on?"
"Just making a little something for the kid."
"Yeah, she mentioned Spiderman was down here. Where is he?"
I shifted slightly and the sound of moving metal drawed her attention.
"Why is he wearing the Mark 23?" She asked, circling me curiously.
"Wasn't prepared. Catch." He threw the mask towards me.
Before I could move, Y/n caught it, holding it out for me.
"For you." She turned back to Mr Stark. "Nice colour scheme. Kinda like the new guy, what's their name? Nightmare?"
"Uh, how do I take this off?" I asked nervously.
"Button behind the ear." They responded simultaneously.
The suit collapsed around me, making a loud smash on the floor.
Neither if them seemed fazed. I quickly pulled the mask over my face, before examining the suit in the mirror.
"Nice."
I jumped as Y/n appeared behind me. She circled me once again, examining the suit carefully.
She grabbed my wrist, now looking closely at my web shooters.
"Hey, what do you do for the webs? String? Glue?"
"It's a by-product of touline plus potassium carbonate. There are a couple of additional chemicals like salicylic acid."
"Yeah, we were gonna brainstorm a little, see if we can't fix that elasticity issue." Tony walked over to us.
"How do you mean?" She asked.
"Well, when I'm swinging the webs might react with the nitrogen in the air. It makes them sticker and they start acting more like bungy cords. And they become less biodegradable."
"Hm..."
"What're ya thinking?"
"Well, if nitrogen's the problem, you could try purifying them? Maybe using silica gel?"
We both stared at her for a second, until a smile spread across Tony's face. He ruffled her neat hair.
"Great idea, kid." As he went to retrieve something, he said, "By the way, how's New York treating you? I forgot to ask."
"Great. It's dirty, crowded and smells of piss. What's not to love?"
He cackled. "Alright, are you gonna head back up?"
"Yeah, see you later, sir." She bowed dramatically at me. "Spiderman. I bid you adieu."
I watched in awe as she left the lab. I pulled the mask off, smiling in disbelief.
"So she really does intern for you?"
"You know her?"
"Yeah, she's my friend. She met Ned before she went to Canada."
"Yeah, she had a rough childhood, but she's a great kid. Might be smarter than me. Just a friend?"
I sighed. "Unfortunately."