I WAS BEGINNING TO DESPISE PETER PARKER.
That was a complete lie, for a part of me had hated him from the start. His bewildered, innocent confusion, the way he stammered and played dumb at all of my questions, the fact that he could do whatever he wanted and be friends with billionaires without trying - for many girls and guys alike, that would be a thing of envy, but to me, it was nothing more than irritating.
However, as I bolted down the street, trying to follow the tracker on my phone and cursing his name to the heavens, there was only one reason I hated the Parker boy; he was getting too fast for me to keep up with. If only there was some way I could magically swing up there with him, or at least not have to work twice as hard to get half of the distance.
Jamming my heel into the ground to slide to a halt, I watched from a distance as the boy slid a mask on and raced out to go do his 'job'. He limped a little on his right foot, and I frowned at the sight, realising that this already wasn't going to be a fair fight.
"Dammit, Peter," I hissed through gritted teeth, pulling myself up on a ledge to watch the action unfold, "you're an idiot. You know that? A damn idiot."
He couldn't hear me, and I was more than fine with that. However, though I could care less about the boy himself, the condition he was in was troubling. If he was less then in perfect health while fighting someone like the lightning man, who didn't even seem to be trying, he had a greater chance to fail. And though he swung and flipped on the webs procured by a hidden mechanism on his suit, I could tell he was tired. Being tired in a fight was never good.
It still kept his humour intact, however, as he zoomed through the streets to meet the threat he had been called for. I could hear him faintly, giving little 'woo-hoos' and waving to the people who stared up at him in total and complete awe. Fool; he wasn't taking this seriously, definitely not as serious as he should be. A fight to the death, in his mind, seemed more like a walk in the park.
"Hello fellows," he cried, springing into action and stopping in front of a group of obvious troublemakers, "going somewhere?"
One of the thieves, a tall burly man with tattoos all over his arms and neck and really, any skin exposed, chortled at the smaller kid in the suit. "Look, here's the spider kid! Oh, damn, I'm so scared! What you gonna do, little guy? Guess you better r-"
He never got the chance to finish his mocking and moronic speech, for in an instant the fight had begun, with the Parker boy flying towards him and throwing him against the opposing wall - gently, for whatever reason, and making sure he didn't hurt himself too bad. Interesting how he fought; when pinning them down, it was only ever to hold them down, not kill them. It didn't make sense to me because it left too many openings and opportunities for things to go wrong, but he didn't stop to think about the negatives of his positive actions.
"Seriously, guys," he wheezed, whipping away from a badly-thrown fist, "it's Spiderman! S-P-I-D-E-R-M-A-N. Come on, what's a guy gotta do to get that in your head?"
I cursed the boy under my breath, sliding to get a better look and watching him joke around while easily taking care of the group. He was so positive and cheerful and goofy while doing this; it was like he had been transformed into a totally different person, and I didn't understand it. The boy I knew and had been assigned to watch was quiet and shy and talked about Star Wars and got picked apart by guys he could easily take care of, while Spiderman was peppy and goofy and while he saved the day he got in a few badly thrown jokes. If I didn't know the truth of who was behind the mask, I wouldn't believe it, for they were two completely opposite people.
It only took mere minutes for 'Spiderman' to clear up the scene, and after the men were tied up and sirens began to sound in the distance, honing into the situation, the few people who had gathered to watch cheered and congratulated the boy. He was a neighbourhood hero once again, and though he refused to take off his mask or reveal himself like so many requested, he still revelled in it, waving and flipping away as the cheers sounded - acting like a celebrity in the midst of forty or so children and elderly women.
I carefully zoomed into the crowd and the boy in the middle, snapping any evidence I could before pushing back and hiding in the shadows, waiting for him to zoom away once again. He would be leaving at any moment, for I knew by now that the Parker boy didn't like to mix with the police or any officials; too much of a risk of exposure, I supposed. At least he was smart about that.
There he was, running off again, forcing me to get back to my feet and chase after him, mentally cursing him for taking the easy route of shooting webs and whirling off to his safe place. If I were not trying to sneakily watch him, I would be so tempted to send something at his handholds and make him fall to the ground, for it at least would be -
"Going so soon?"
I stumbled and fell back into the shadows, breath caught in my throat as a new voice thundered through the streets and sending shudders down my spine, a voice I recognised all too well. I watched the figure fall to the ground with a shattering thud, trying to breathe through the terror flooding my body - I was only lucky he wasn't targeting me.
Peter turned slowly, as if in slow motion, and stared at the large man, Adam's Apple bobbing in his suit as he gulped for air. "W-what? I thought...actually I'm not sure what I thought-"
"Peter Parker, saving the day - what a surprise," he chuckled, stepping closer and folding in arms that crackled with pure static. "Think you're some big hero now, don't you? Saving the day all the time, riding Stark's coattails and flying around in that fancy suit - you're a real hero, aren't you?"
It was clear that Peter knew something I didn't, something that the two shared, for I had the funny feeling this man wasn't just targeting Peter for no reason. There were many people around, many people who were so much bigger and much more powerful then a boy running around New York in a spider suit, yet he was the one this man chose to go after. None of that added up, and the fact that this man, who seemingly came out of nowhere, hated the boy so much made no sense. Something about this was artificial - like it wasn't truly a fight of anger or spite.
Peter took a step back, hesitant and trembling, and made faint fists, thought unlike last time, it wasn't with the same confidence; he and I both knew what he was capable of. "Look, Sparky, I gotta go. Can't we just call it a day and move on?"
Another harsh chuckle; the man he had oh-so-cleverly named 'Sparky' laughed, but it was a bitter, chilling sound, followed by a short jab of silver streaks. "We're just getting started, Peter Parker. Don't think you get off that easily."
I winced as he fell to the ground, pure lightning shaking his body and forcing him to shake and writhe on the pavement beneath him. He didn't cry out - something I admired - but there was no denying that the pain flooding his body was unimaginable to anyone who hadn't experienced it. The slim figure was bathed in electricity and, try as he did, he couldn't even move a single inch away from the man or his seemingly infinite power.
After what felt like forever, though it was probably only a few seconds, the man relented and fell back, staring at the wounded man and watching him stumble to his feet, shaking from the pure lightning that had just pounded through his body seconds before. He managed to stay standing, but only barely; he stumbled and slumped, struggling to raise his fists and stare at the man. "Who-who are you?"
From my position, I couldn't see his expression, but I could only imagine the maniacal grin that hid in his voice as the man answered the question. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the boy lift his mask to reveal stained lips, breathing heavily through undeniable pain. "I go by a lot of names, boy, but you can call me your worst damn nightmare."
"That's..." Peter spit something, presumably a mixture of bile and blood to the side, groaning through the pain, "that's really cheesy, dude. I'd...work on that delivery."
Oh, Peter Parker, you royal idiot.
That obviously didn't sit well, and with a loud shout, he charged at the trembling boy, throwing him to the ground once more. He fought back, writhing and gripping at his legs, throwing him down and trying his hardest to get some sort of upper hand, but with the obvious advantage going to the older man, he was losing - and badly.
Peter spun away and fought back up to his feet once more, holding the side of his torso gingerly and supporting himself against a nearby wall - his ribs, by the looks of it, though there was obviously much more than that. "What do you want from...me?"
"I want to knock you off your high horse," he rumbled, eyes not leaving the shaking boy's face. "I want you to realise that you're not the perfect boy everyone wants you to be; you're nothing but a lonely idiot who got lucky once and never stopped there. Without your best friend Stark and that suit, you're a nobody."
The boy winced at his words - or at the pain running through his body, I wasn't sure - and lifted his gaze back to the villain, wiping at the blood on his face. "And...you're...not anyone but...a bad cosplay...guy. Seriously, dude...work on that...makeup?"
If this creature/man hybrid didn't shock Peter to death, I sure as hell was going to.
"Idiot!" He cried again, falling upon him like a lion onto its prey, ripping and flooding his body with electricity until it looked as though Peter wasn't even alive, he was some sort of shaking puppet, alive with the silver strings of lightning pumped into him and moving him about. Even from my hiding place several feet away, I could tell that even in the cocky, confident, goofy mind of Peter Parker, he was slowly giving up, leaving me with two choices.
I couldn't have his death on my hands; that would amount to nothing good. If he died, I was screwed, and there was no way I was going to fall because of a stupid mistake like that. However, if I wasn't careful, that could result in my death or my exposure, which would also mean hell rained on me in the form of Inga and the entire Academy against me.
Still, I couldn't just let him die, though it seemed like an alright notion in the smallest way. He wouldn't die on my hands, anyway; the most I could do was try.
Darting out of the shadows, mask tightened around my face and hunched over like a small rock moving forward, I lunged at the man made of lightning; probably the dumbest idea I've ever had. Immediately, my body absorbed the waves of electricity flowing off of the man, and I cried aloud, struggling to pull him off as the pain flowed through my body, my mind, my blood - it was like slowly being pulled apart, piece by piece, only it was pure energy tearing at my insides and stopping any movement or thoughts or emotions possible.
I opened my eyes through the pain ripping through me and struggled to shove him away, falling into a sloppy roll to avoid his hit. Unarmed, I was defenceless against his power and strength, but I had to do something, as Peter still laid squirming in the dirt. I could barely think, let alone move, but there was no way in hell that I was going to let him die - for purely business reasons, so to speak. Blood pouring down a bitten apart lip, I opened my mouth, ready to speak-
-however, instead of turning on me, the man simply rolled his eyes and in seconds had disappeared, leaving me to stand, still trembling, in the empty alleyway with just Peter and I and the wind whistling through.
Peter.
I whirled around in a mixture of shock and despair, staring at the boy on the ground, who was now watching me but in surprise and an emotion I couldn't read. I was lucky my face wasn't visible, but that didn't change the fact that I had just made the worst mistake of my life; I had revealed that someone knew Peter, let alone had followed him here, probably leading him to believe that this was far from the first time.
"Who-" he staggered up, wiping blood that trickled from his mouth and stared at me incredulously, "who the hell are you?"
No replies came from my mouth; the only sounds made were from my heels as I bolted away, terror flooded my body now as I raced away from the boy and everything that had happened in that alleyway. I didn't know if he would follow me - not that he seemed like he was even in a condition to walk - but just to be sure, I took shadowed routes to avoid suspicion.
I had made the worst mistake of my life - or, at least, of this mission. While he couldn't truly see me, he knew that someone had been there, which would raise confusion and questions and speculations, which would lead to the boy doing his very best to figure out just who the hooded figure had been. This would lead to danger and problems, with the outline of my disguised body ingrained in the boy's head. He knew something now, which meant I had lost my minuscule advantage.
However, that was not the worst part. I could deal with him knowing; hell, I could deal with the world knowing that a mysterious person in a mask saved the boy from a lightning/man hybrid. I, however, could not deal with the wrath of Inga, who was undoubtedly already receiving word of my mistake and deciding just which way she wanted to punish me. She would be angry, far more furious than I had ever seen her, and there was no doubt in my mind that the second I arrived back to base I would be punished for my sins.
I just had to hope that I wouldn't die too horribly.
Ay, the start of the action - and he finally sort of knows that she's there! Obviously, he doesn't know exactly who she is, but she was revealed!
This isn't my favourite chapter, but it's one that is extremely necessary - this is the chapter that will introduce one of the major threats, but it also shows Freya/Emily questioning the legitimacy, which is important. Please note now that this story will not follow Electro's storyline to a 't'; yes, he was in the Amazing Spiderman doing all that shit [gag] but this is before all that. Please don't come at me and say 'this isn't who he is' or that he is rumoured for later Spiderman films because trust me, I know that. This will all make sense later on.
Also, because a few people have asked, this is an AU between SP; HC and Civil War because when this was written Homecoming hadn't come out and by the time it did, I was already in the thick of the plot. So, yes, I do know that Spiderman wasn't doing much of his badass-ary yet and that all come to play in Homecoming, but work with me here, kids. Or, just don't read this; whatever works for me, just stop asking me to explain shit for you.
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you thought!