Chapter ten: Joy
When I told Sam we couldn't date because of his heroing and such, he, naturally, wasn't happy. He was especially mad to learn that I had gotten this idea when Iron Fist talked to me the night before.
Then I heard from Harry that Danny was seen fighting Sam. Again.
Wait. Did that mean Danny was--?
"Hello? Osborns? Your amazingly, spectacular, friendly neighborhood-."
"We get it Pete, you're here." Harry said, walking down the stairs.
"Well, I just wanted to make sure." Peter said, walking over with Mary Jane (MJ), a girl who I'm pretty sure both boys like.
Poor MJ.
"Trust me. I could hear you coming a mile away. Do you ever close your mouth?"
"Nope." He said, plopping in the seat next to me. In the spirt of Christmas, Harry invited both of his closest friends for a movie marathon. It was a Snow Day, so all Peter and MJ had to do was catch a taxi. Apparently Pete called Danny to get a ride.
Oh, did I mention I learned his name? After Iron Fist came to visit, it kinda just clicked.
"You sound proud of that." I said.
"I am. It annoys my enemies, plus it makes me sound awesome." Conceited much?
"Just put in the movie, I want to get to school by third period at the latest." Mj said. Chuckling, Harry placed the movie in the DVR.
"Alright Mj, whatever you say. Now who wants to watch some Santa Claus?"
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After watching Tim Allen fall of the roof and Peter and Harry fail at a two player video game, MJ decided that while Harry could stay with me, her and Pete needed to study for a physics test.
"Mary Jane, the guy has a perfect GPA. If you aren't gonna stay, at least let Peter!!"
"You know why he has a perfect GPA? Because he actually shows up for his classes, unlike someone!!"
"MJ, Peter is late for everything, how does that affect his GPA?!"
"You are failing the only language you speak!!" Peter sat down next to me with a small sigh.
"It'd be nice if for just once, someone who ask what I thought." Chuckling, I scoffed.
"Oh Mister Parker, children like you should be seen and not heard. Your opinion will never matter!" I said sarcastically. He laughed.
"Sometimes I feel like that's what the world wants me to think." I raised an eyebrow.
"Why?" He shrugged.
"Life is hard. Really hard. Sometimes you don't have a choice on what it throws at you."
"I'm sorry." I whispered. He nodded, then grinned.
"Well, what can you do right? I mean, it's not like life could just drop a Snow Day on me and allow--." Peter groaned when his phone rang.
"I gotta take this." He said, standing up and walking away. I frowned, looking down at my ankle. The stupid thing wasn't healing fast enough for me.
"Fine. Perhaps we should ask Peter what he thinks." Harry said, turning to his friend. Seeing that he was on the phone, the genius decided to repeatedly tap on his shoulder.
"Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete."
"Harry he's on the phone!" MJ hissed. I chuckled. They were funny to watch.
"Do I.....ugh, fine. Whatever." Peter hung up the phone and turned to Harry, MJ and I.
"Sorry guys, something came up with Aunt May. I uh, have to go." He said, moving towards the door. Instantly, Harry's face fell.
"Are you sure you can't stay? I wanted to show Joy around New York, and I...you know....wanted you and MJ to come along." I saw the guilt in Peter's eyes. He wanted to stay.
"I'm sorry Harry it's just...I'm sorry." He said, closing the door, leaving MJ, Harry and I in silence.
"I'm sorry Harry. I have to go." MJ said after a few minutes. Harry sighed and waved her aside, sitting down on the couch next to me.
"Whatever Mary Jane." He muttered. She left too.
Harry sighed.
"I hate this. Dad's busy, Peter's busy, MJ has always been busy.....does no one have time for me anymore?" He asked.
"I do." I said. Harry looked at me slightly.
"Really? Cause I thought with the beef cake sandwich you've been stuck in lately, you'd be busy today too." Actually, neither Sam nor Danny had called me today. Which gave me conflicted feelings.
"Beef cake sandwich?" I questioned, pretending to have no idea what he was talking about.
"Oh don't play stupid. Danny and Sam are practically throwing themselves at you. I mean, you've been my sister what? A couple months? Yet they pay you more attention." I frowned. Harry had some serious self esteem issues, which I made a mental note to mention to Mister Osborn about later.
"How about this. You grab my crutches (which you hid from me) and we can go out together, just the two of us. Show me New York, Harry Osborn style." He grinned.
"Fine. Call a taxi, we're doing this Parker style." Does that mean poorly or be late for everything?
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Harry was against showing me the tourist attractions. He said if I wanted to see the Stature of Liberty, I could look out my window and see it. If I wanted to see Times Square, he'd show me on New Years or when the Chistmas celebrations start (sometime tomorrow I think), the only time when it's worth looking at. And if I wanted to see Central Park, he told me to have one of my boy toys show me.
I promptly slapped him.
"Ow!!! I'm just saying!! I want to show you what it's like to be an actual New Yorker. You can go to Central Park anytime you want."
"What about today?"
"No. We have an ice skating rink in our house."
"Why exactly?"
"Long story."
"HEY NUMBSKULL LEARN HOW TO DRIVE YA STINKIN PIECE OF--." That was our driver. You know how you hear New Yorkers have bad attitudes and are terrible drivers? That was our driver.
"So where are you--- Ah!!--- bringing me?" I asked, as our driver proceed to try and kill us by turning a sharp corner very fast.
"A little cafe near Stark Tower."
"Isn't that a tourist attraction?"
"Well, yes but I'm taking you to see the café not the Stark Ego Monument next to it." Chuckling, I quickly got out of the car when taxi stopped. Was I allowed to sue him?
"Tell me you didn't tip him or anything."
"Do you tip taxi drivers?" Harry asked, opening the door to the café. I shrugged.
"How should I know? I've never lived here before now." I said quietly. Harry's smile faded.
"Do you remember anything? At all?" I shook my head. The last thing I remember is waking up in Burlington, Vermont. From there, I somehow ended up in Queens, New York.
"I don't remember why I was abandoned there Harry. And I know if I want to." I said honestly. The women at the counter gave a really creepy smile, which distracted me from my lack of memory from my childhood.
"Can I help you with anything?" Harry cleared his throat and ordered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move in the shadows.
No, it was just a mirage off the snow. Right?
"That will be ready in a sec Mister Osborn." Harry nodded and pulled me to the side, whispering in my ear.
"Did you think that lady was a little creepy?" I nodded.
"Only slightly."
"All that was running through my head was Peter saying 'No, no no, no, no! Nonononono!! Don't you say it, don't you say it!'" I laughed. I could totally see Peter saying that.
"Mister Osborn!" I raised an eyebrow. That was fast......which was either a good thing, or a really bad thing.
"Come on." Harry said, leading me over to a booth near the corner of the café.
"So how did you find this place? I mean, we're in Manhattan."
"Pete and I once got really lost. And I mean really lost. One wrong train and someone we ended up hear. The coffee isn't that great, but they have good Danishes and chocolate muffins." He said, sitting down and handing me one of each, along with a medium hot chocolate. Whipped cream included of course.
"You know it's like, eleven right?"
"Yep. We will be eating lunch later." He said, grinning. I smiled, taking a sip of my hot chocolate and instantly regretting it.
"Ow!!"
"What?"
"It's my tongue!!"
"Did you think they called it Hot Chocolate because it was cold?" Letting out a small whine of complaint, I kicked Harry's shin. He whinched, then laughed.
"So sensitive. Does Sam know you don't know what 'Hot' means?" I growled, munching on my muffin. Harry continued laughing, then paused, looking out the window.
"What? Think the snow is more interesting than I am?" I asked, pretending to be annoyed. He shook his head, and pointed at something. I turned.
There was a very large, buff man, hovering outside our window. He had blonde hair, I think blue eyes, and was wearing a red suit with a yellow cape. Part of me hoped he was Captain America in disguise, but I knew I wouldn't have that much luck.
"Joy Osborn. Did you really think that hiding so close to Stark Tower would prevent us from attacking?" Completely filled with terror, I backed up as his eyes glowed, and he cut the glass with...laser vision or something.
"Don't put up a fight dear girl. My sources say you don't even have your full powers back."
"Powers? What are you talking about!?" Harry demanded. I didn't even notice him next to me.
"Who the hell are you anyway!?" The man glared at Harry.
"I am Hyperion, and I should be treated with respect. Your so-called sister is more important than you could ever imagine. So why don't you just come with me, and prevent the casualties that will happen if you refuse." Hyperion said. Out the corner of my eye, I saw several things. Powdered sugar. The fact that everyone had left the cafe. And a fork.
Naturally I grabbed the powdered sugar and threw it at him.
"Come on!!" I tugged at Harry's hand, leading him out of the cafe while Hyperion screamed in pain. Apparently that hurts.
"You foolish girl!! You have no idea the plans the Cabal has for you. We would make you a goddess. A Queen!!" Hyperion appeared in front of us, face still covered in sugar. I had to resist the urge to laugh.
"I don't want to be your queen!!" I yelled.
"Good answer." An arrow flew past me and landed in Hyperion's stupid face, exploding upon contact. And it was pretty fun to watch.
"That guy is like, forty years older than you. I'm pretty sure that's illegal." The Avenger, Hawkeye, said, walking to me.
"What does he want with you anyway?" He asked casually, while Hyperion roared in anger.
"You think one of your trick arrows can stop me Hawkeye?" He shook his head.
"Nope. But that's why I brought a Hulk and a Thor with me." Thunder rumbled over head as Hulk punched Hyperion, sending him flying, and Thor let out his battle cry, hammer glowing with energy.
"HAVE AT THEE VILLAIN!!!" He cried.
"Isn't he weird?" Hawkeye asked. I wasn't sure which one he was talking about, so I just nodded.
"Falcon, Widow get the Osborns into the tower. Stark wants to run tests on Joy to find out why the Cabal want her so badly. Hawkeye, your with me." My inner fan girl was pretty much going crazy. As much as I wanted to ask for Captain America's autograph, I figured now was probably not the best time.
"Um, can I go with Widow and Falcon?" Captain America glared at Hawkeye. He sighed.
"Fine, I'll stay here."
"Avengers.....ASSEMBLE!!" Captain America cried. I giggled.
"That's so cool." Falcon next to me chuckled.
"I know right? I still geek out whenever I hear him say that." Black Widow rolled her eyes.
"Come on you two." She grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him through the crowd towards Stark tower.
"I want a lawyer!!" I heard him say. Falcon placed a hand on my shoulder.
"How are you at flying?"
"Why?" His red wings sprung from his back, and he lifted me up bridal style, and took off.
"Hope that was okay with you. Fastest way to the tower." He said, once we landed. I grinned.
"Are you kidding?! That was so much fun!!"
"Perhaps next time the ride will be because Falcon asked you out on a date, not because a crazy overpowered supervillain is after you." Ignorings Falcon's obvious blush, I looked at the billionaire before me. Mister Osborn complained about him enough for me to know who he was, what he had done.
"Tony Stark." I said. He grinned.
"In the flesh. Now come on sweetheart, let's go find out why the super villains are chasing down nice city girls like yourself." He turned his back, and started walking up a set of stairs. I turned to Falcon, who gave me a small nod.
"Don't worry Ms. Osborn. I won't tell Norman you were hanging around Tony Stark." Smiling slightly at the joke, I proceeded to follow Falcon up the stairs.
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"Sir, nothing is coming up on my scans."
"Try again JARVIS. There must be some reason the Cabal is after this girl."
"Or maybe your wrong, and there's nothing wrong with my sister, and that Hyperion guy is just confused." Harry countered. Tony Stark looked up from his screen.
"First off, that is way too many 'ands' for one sentence. At least one that short anyway. Secondly, kid I'm almost never wrong. When I am wrong, it's normally about how long it'll take for Hawkeye to piss Hulk off." He said.
"Sir, I have found a slight anomaly in her blood stream. It's faint, and very well hidden, however I believe it may have something to do with the Cabal."
"Focus in on that then JARVIS. We need to find out why Skull is hunting this girl." Black Widow said. She hadn't done much, just stood there overseeing everything, however her glare did make me a little uncomfortable.
"Of course ma'am. Through I must add that Ms. Osborn does have abnormally pale skin."
"JARVIS, a lot of people have pale skin, especially in the winter time. Don't see how that can help us." Falcon said.
"Sir, I was merely stating that even for a human, her skin is abnormally pale. Her pulse and heartbeat are also on the lower side."
"You didn't mention this before now why?" Tony Stark asked, rushing over to me and placing a finger on my pulse.
"I told you sir. These abnormalities were very well hidden within her."
"Biotech?" Falcon guessed.
"Doubtful. Still doesn't explain why Hyperion or Skull wants her." A loud crash made everyone jump.
"Sir, Hyperion has gotten past the tower defenses. He is now inside the tower."
"Thanks for stating the obvious JARVIS." Tony Stark said, his armor flying towards him.
"Widow, stay here and protect the Osborns. We can't let Hyperion get ahold of them." Black Widow nodded.
"Whatever you say Tony." She said. Ironman nodded, and lead Flacon out of the room.
"Come on you two, time for a little training." She said, leading us out of the room and down the hall.
"I think..... this is why..... Dad wants us ......to ......avoid Tony ......Stark." Harry said, as we followed Black Widow down a set of stairs.
"Maybe. Maybe not." I said, somehow managing to keep up with Black Widow. She could run really fast, so I'm not sure how I was doing it without breaking a sweat. Harry was not so lucky.
"Could we....please....take a sec..........and...breathe?" Harry said, wheezing trying to catch his breathe.
Black Widow rolled her eyes.
"We don't have a second. Hyperion could be done here any minute to catch her." Grabbing my hand tightly, she lead me into a large room.
"This is the training room. You should be good here." Black Widow said.
"And if im not?"
"What part of training--." Black Widow jumped back when Hyperion came crashing through the ceiling.
"Haha!! It seems we have shown him who is the strongest. Are you in agreement friend Hulk?" Thor came through the whole in the ceiling, quickly followed by Hulk and the rest of the Avengers.
"Whatever goldilocks. I just want to smash!!"
"Guys, be careful. Hyperion--." Captain America started to say, before Hyperion got up.
"Is not yet down Captain." His eyes landing on me, Hyperion smirked.
"And it looks like I might just get what I wanted." He said. I glared at him. Something felt, different about me in that very moment. I wish I could remember the feeling.
"Leave me, ALONE!!" I yelled. No sooner than the word left my mouth did I feel an excruciating pain rip through my skull. Like when the Beetle first attacked me, only worse.
"Vampires now!? Oh come on!" I barely heard Hawkeye complain. The world was spinning, and I really didn't like it.
"Well well well. It seems Hyperion did his job correctly." I shivered. The voice was back.
"Don't worry my dear sweet. If you wish your pets to leave, then your pets shall leave."
"W-who..,are you?" I muttered, still rocking back and forth in pain. Every time an Avenger got rid of a shadow thing, it only made the pain worse. My vision was starting to blur.
"You will learn soon enough child. Everything that was taken anyway from you will soon come back. All you have to do is listen." The pain stopped. The shadow things vanished. Hyperion looked seemly unconscious.
"You alright Joy?" Falcon asked. I response, I promptly threw up.
Then after trying to stand, I passed out.
Merry Christmas to me. Wooho.