I don't own anything except any original character and/or any original plot.
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Chapter Thirteen: Mysterious Man
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A/n: Early update. And I oop-
~*~
The next morning I was in a hurry to make sure I had everything for the trip. I checked, then double checked, then triple checked the list that had been sent out. Along with all the clothes and 'research materials', I had some other fun things, entertainment for the long flight, and the Riptide cuffs Shuri made for me. Peter was determined to make it a normal vacation, but I was a bit more realistic and knew that the world wouldn't take a vacation just because we were.
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.
Checking my phone, I declined yet another call from Nick Fury. That was the second one that morning and the fifth one in all. He was likely calling Peter as well. Zipping up my suitcase, I slung my backpack over my shoulder.
Parents waiting for me by the door, I bid goodbye to Jess as she entered the building, and loaded into the car. The ride to the airport was full of the usual music and New York traffic, which was why we left so early.
When we got to the airport, I reminded my parents to pick me up in Jersey, and gave them tight hugs. Most of the class was already there along with Mr. Harrington. When the last stragglers, including Flash who was "fashionably late", arrived, we handed in our boarding passes and entered the plane.
Peter was behind me in line, and to keep things going smoothly, I simply sat next to Betty as the seats filled up. She was nice, and I didn't have any problems with her so I was fine with it.
"Yo, Parker!" Flash called from first class, "This is called an airplane. It's like the busses you're used to, expect it flies over the poor neighborhoods instead of driving through them."
"I'm not even in first class and I co-own a million dollar company. Flex," Harry muttered from the seat in front of me, causing me to push it forward with my foot and laugh. He sent me an award-winning smile in return.
MJ, who was passing by, called out to the flight attendant, "Excuse me, ma'am? He Blipped, so technically he's sixteen. Not twenty-one."
"I'll take that," the flight attendant took the glass of champagne he was holding.
"She's lying, I don't even know this girl!"
With a smirk, MJ continued and sat next to Harry in front of me, who was next to Brad Davis, filling up that row.
"What do you think about the fashion that's come out since we blipped?" Betty asked me seriously.
That was another thing. It'd be... difficult to explain how we hadn't aged but stayed alive, so with some help, we changed official records so they said we'd blipped. We made it through the entire school year without giving ourselves away. Score one for us.
"Well, the world paused so I can't say that what's come out is-"
"Hey Betty, would you mind switching with me?" Peter walked up to us.
"Why?"
"Because the lady in front of us is wearing perfume and I'm allergic," Peter stated sarcastically, as if the answer wasn't obvious already. Betty let out an 'oh' and went to pick up her things when Mr. Harrington cut in.
"Perfume allergy? I know from experience that those shouldn't be messed with."
"Oh, no I was just being-"
"Ned, switch with (Y/n). Harry you can sit next to her so she's not alone, and Peter, you're with me back here."
Sighing in frustration, Peter picked up his carry on and walked a row back to where Mr. Harrington was sitting with Mr. Dell.
"Sorry," I mouthed to him when we made eye contact. He shrugged hopelessly.
I was entirely sure why I was being moved, but I couldn't argue against it. I sat where Peter previously was, Ned sat next to Betty, and Harry scooted past MJ to sit next to me.
"I've got a dual headphone adaptor if you want to watch a movie together," Harry offered, holding up the small device like it was precious.
"Sure, anything that's not about superheroes. I deal with enough of that already," I chuckled, pulling out my headphones.
"Rom-Com?"
"Let's do it!"
~*~
The flight wasn't bad at all. Thanks to Harry's unlimited streaming access and the plethora of things I packed for myself to do, I was entertained the entire way.
At the airport, we found our luggage and waited in line at customs. I waved Peter over to the line I was in with Ned. Harry had been recognized by some manager on the staff while we were getting off the plane and was rushed through security 'for his safety'. I loved him, but what a jerk.
"That flight was the worst," Peter sighed tiredly.
"Relax Peter, things will work out okay," Ned replied calmly.
Betty practically skipped up to us, "Hey baby, can you hold this for me, please?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Thanks," Betty kissed Ned's cheek. They stared into each other's eyes for an uncomfortable amount of time until Ned booped her nose. Peter and I exchanged confused glances. Was everyone secretly getting together?
"What's going on there?" I asked when Betty was out of earshot.
"Well, we sat next to each other on the plane, and it turns out that we have a lot in common. So uh, we're boyfriend and girlfriend now."
"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" It was a very highschool thing to say, "Is that what Peter and I look like?"
"Without a doubt all the time. You two are so in love it's disgusting."
Well, that was a frightening revelation.
"Whatever happened to being an American bachelor in Europe?" Peter questioned quizzically.
"Peter, those were the words of a boy. And that boy met a woman. A very strong and powerful woman. And now, that boy is a man."
"Babe?"
"Coming babe."
As soon as they were gone I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore. Ned and Betty were the last pair I could see getting together for so many reasons. It took Peter and I months to get together, and they were "Boyfriend and girlfriend" after a long plane ride? Everything about it was comical.
"This vacation has already gotten off to a really weird start," I placed my bag on the observation belt and passed through the metal detector without issue, assuming Peter was right behind me.
It wasn't until I joined up with the main group again that I realized he wasn't with us. Panic rose in my gut, and I resisted the urge to immediately pull out my suit. The past few years had been stressful, and my hero instincts were good, but that didn't mean I had to jump on everything that set them off.
Sure enough, Peter was sprinting to catch up with our group two minutes later, putting my fears to rest.
"I'm here! Mr. Harrington I'm here."
"Oh, thank goodness," Mr. Harrington acted relieved, like he hadn't kept walking as if he had all the kids.
"What happened?" I asked Peter.
"One of the dogs sniffed my bag out. When the security lady went through it, my suit was out in the open. May snuck it in before I left."
"Did she put the pieces together?"
"She looked kind of dead on the inside, and so she just took the banana out of my bag and threw it away."
"That could have been a disaster."
From the airport, we met Harry outside who was speaking to that same manager guy who got him through security. Apparently Oscorp did international business with some of their shareholders and that was why he was recognized. Rich people.
Our group loaded onto a boat to transport us across the city. It was gorgeous, a place I had never seen before- even with Kurt's constant 'field trips'. Per MJ's offer, Peter and I got several pictures together with the beautiful architecture in the background.
"We're here," Mr. Harrington announced as we pulled up in front of a decrepit building that could definitely collapse on us at any given moment.
Our class grumbled their disagreement. Frowning but holding back my comments, I picked up my bags and carefully stepped off the boat. A floating city. I was in my element and I couldn't be more happy, even if our hotel was less than desirable.
"Here we are- woah," Mr. Harrington stepped in a stream running through the lobby.
"This place is sinking," Flash deadpanned.
"I think you mean charming," Mr. Harrington tried to save the situation.
"Alright everybody, drop your bags off. We're going to meet at the Da Vinci museum at three! Let's go!"
With even more displeased murmurs, the class trekked up the steps and broke off into their designated rooms. Since we could request roommates, I was with MJ.
"When you're in Rome, you do as the Romans do. When you're in Venice, your socks get wet!" At least that gained a few chuckles.
The rooms were nice all things considered. Sturdy beds with slightly questionable sheets - that MJ immediately sprayed with a disinfectant - windows with a view of the water, and a sink in the middle of the room, and the toilet and shower broken off.
"Wow."
"I'm spraying your bed too. I don't trust this place," MJ thoroughly cleansed my bed, "You should have used some of your connections."
"What connections?" I chuckled.
"Pepper Potts, the King or Princess of Wakanda, you're mutant group, or your friend who's running a multi-million dollar company."
"You're one of Harry's best friends too," I laughed, sitting on the bed and feeling much safer doing it thanks to MJ's spray.
"Yeah, but he'd do anything-" MJ cut herself off, picking up her bag and hurrying out of the room.
"He'd do anything, what?" I rushed after her, grabbing my travel bag on the way out the door, "What were you gonna say?"
"Doesn't matter," MJ jumped down the last two steps, "I just know that I may suck at showing emotions, but I can pick them up."
"Stop being cryptic!"
~*~
The supervision was very lax when we were in the city. Our class split into their little groups, either going across the bridge to the market, or sticking close to the tourist attractions near the museum. Either way, I wasn't sure where our teachers were. It was slightly concerning.
On top of that, I lost Peter again, however, MJ was there to take me to different picture spots and name off different morbid facts about Da Vinci or about Venice itself.
"(Y/n)," Harry called me over to a stand. MJ immediately got distracted by an informational stand on Italian true crime, so I left her to her own devices while walking over to Harry, "What do you think? Am I more handsome than ever?"
He held up a green bauta masquerade mask. My body jerked as he did so, and for a split second, it was the Green Goblin beneath that mask. But Harry's low chuckle quickly brought me out of it and I laughed along with him.
"These masks are really cool," I picked up a gold dual crown one with music notes lining the bottom, admiring the attention to detail and fine craftsmanship.
"Quanto?" Harry asked the cashier.
"Cinquanta euro."
Without hesitation, Harry produced the money from his wallet. I didn't even have time to argue before the mask I was holding was in a gift bag and in my hands. Harry was smiling brightly, and I sputtered out some random noises.
"Harry-"
"No refunds," Harry shot me down, "And you can't say it was too expensive because I'm running a company. It's a gift."
Not able to argue, I simply gave Harry a hug. It was then that I noticed Peter coming over the bridge.
"Thank you Harry. I promise I'll buy you something wherever we go next!"
Running through the crowd, I met Peter on the bridge. He himself had a small bag in his hands.
"Boh," I greeted.
"What?"
"Boh. MJ has been saying it non-stop since she learned what it meant."
"What does it mean?"
"It can mean anything," I explained shortly, "Stop, leave me alone, I don't know, shut up. That's why MJ loves it so much. It's rude but doesn't have to be at the same time. What's in the bag?"
"Uh... boh. What about you? What did you get?"
"Oh, Harry bought me a masquerade mask as a present. I'll have to show it to you when we get back to the hotel."
Peter's lips pursed, but he didn't pursue the situation any further, "And MJ and Ned?"
"Ned is off with his new girlfriend, and MJ was at a true crime booth the last time I saw them."
Stepping off the bridge, I immediately took notice of the manhole cover in front of us. The water was draining through it until the street was nearly dry. It wasn't my doing, and I wasn't aware of anything that could do that.
"Peter," I tapped his arm to draw his attention and pointed to the manhole, "Did you see that?"
"The water was draining," Peter muttered quietly.
The water exploded. Peter and I gasped in surprise. That wasn't like any natural phenomena. A screaming Ned and Betty were pushed to shore by the wave in their weird little love boat.
"Go, go," I helped Betty out of the boat, "Peter, help get them to safety, this is my time."
Being as stupid as I was, I left my cuffs in our hotel room. I brought them, but that didn't mean I was paranoid to the point of having them with me at all times. Luckily, Harry had provided me with the perfect disguise. The masquerade mask. I pulled it out of the bag and secured it tightly around my head, entering the fold.
"Oh my god it has a face!" I screamed as I jumped onto the water. It was a... I had no idea what it was, but it was a water monster with a face. Not the weirdest thing I'd ever seen, but boy was it up there.
Lifting my hands towards the beast, I knew I couldn't bend the entire thing. No matter how much I had improved - going from smaller bits of concentrated water, to a pool, to a small pond - I'd never practiced on a large, sentient water being. Still, I attempted to block its attacks on the buildings.
"Shit," I winced when it smashed in half, "Come on!"
But nothing was happening. The water below me was holding me above the waterline, and bits and pieces of the monster was shifting from what I could see, but nothing was happening.
The giant hand came towards me, and I dropped my hold on the water holding me up to go under before it could drown me. Under the water, I yelped when something slammed into my back. Rubble or something else I wasn't sure, but it moved too quickly for me to see clearly.
When I was sure I was safe, I resurfaced. Try number two I used water directly from the river to mix with the water that I apparently couldn't bend. That produced more efficient results, with some warping here or there, but something was still off and I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Hey kid, look out!" Something, or rather someone, in strange armor flew past me. Lasers shot out from their hands and actually hurt the monster in front of me, "Listen, if you can control water then you need to keep the damage away from the buildings!"
If he was dealing actual damage, then I wouldn't argue against his orders. As the monster creates giant whirlpools, I played damage control and kept them contained within the canal borders.
"Excuse me, sir!" That was Peter in a masquerade mask, "I can help! I'm really strong and I'm sticky!"
"I need to lead it away from the canals." The man flew off with a puff of green smoke left behind.
The monster chased after the mysterious hero, and with a grunt I chased after them. Peter was in the surrounding buildings, keeping them together, and I lifted people out of the water as they got dragged in by the force of the monster's attacks.
After having successfully led it away from the canals, I was a little more useless than I cared to admit. Without the ability to control the monster, I was stuck doing what I could in damaging it and keeping civilians out of the way
The mysterious hero opened two portals behind the monsters and used his Mystic Arts like powers to suck the beast in. With one final scream and a twist of his arms, the beast split in half and was destroyed.
"Woo, yeah!" The civilians surrounding the battle site cheered, including our classmates.
Taking it as my cue to leave, I passed through the nearest side alley and used the nearest landmarks to locate where I was and go back to the hotel. I was the first one back, and after packing my mask and changing my clothes, I heard the voices of the rest of the class below.
Knock knock knock.
Opening the door, a disgruntled MJ and a blearily blinking Peter greeted me. All MJ wanted was a new sweatshirt and Peter sat down on my bed when she left.
"I got hit in the head with a bell twice," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Can you just heal it a little bit?"
Nodding, I pulled some water from the sink and wrapped it around his already damp hair, "How did you get hit twice?"
"I was holding up a bell tower. The first time was because the bell was swinging, and the second because I got pulled forward when it started to fall. Pretty sure I got a concussion from it."
"Ow, you definitely did," I stopped when my head started to ache, "You're better. I don't know what the hell happened, but whatever that thing was I couldn't control it."
"Maybe because it was alive," Peter suggested as we exited the room, "It could control itself so you couldn't control it as well."
"The same could be said about people. But I control them just fine..." It was a morbid reminder, but a logical reason to be confused.
"Buzzfeed says that an underwater engineer got into an accident with a generator and got hydropowers," Flash reported, walking circles around the room.
"Yeah, you should definitely believe everything the internet says," MJ agreed sarcastically.
"Spider-Man and Riptide could take him. I mean, Riptide was born with her powers. What a badass," Flash fanboyed.
The irony was almost painful. Peter got a call from May and walked to the corner to talk to her. I had a few texts from my parents, but it was easy to appease them with some reassurances that everything ended up okay and that no, I didn't know who that new hero was.
"Who is that guy?" Betty asked as a news report went over the events of that day, including footage of the mysterious hero who defeated the monster.
"He's like Iron Man and Thor rolled into one," Brad stated.
"He's alright, but he's no Spidey-Tide." And there was our ship name being used unironically.
"What is it with you and those two?"
"What? They're just awesome okay? They protect the neighborhood, you know? They've inspired me to be a better man," Flash sent Peter a nod when he joined the group again, "What's up dickwad? Thought you drowned."
Again, painful irony.
"Sounds like his name is Mysterio."
"Actually, they're calling him 'man of mystery'. They don't actually know who he is."
"Whoever he is, he saved the city," Harry cut in, "Surprised we haven't heard of him before."
"Mysterio... Cool name," Ned and Betty shared a look, as they spoke in unison, "Babe!"
"Paris tomorrow. Hopefully that will be calmer," Peter chuckled, "What do you think about the Eiffel Tower?"
"Kurt took me up there once. It's a gorgeous few." Peter grinned, and I raised a curious brow, "What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just cool that you've been to the top before."
"Alright kids, I know it's been an exciting day, but we're leaving for London tomorrow which means we need a good night of sleep. Bedtime!"
Groaning, the class filed up the stairs and broke off into their rooms. I changed into my pajamas and knocked on Peter's door so I could say goodnight.
"Hey Peter, I just wanted to say good-"
"And there's your other half. Hello, Riptide."
Jumping, I spun around to greet Nick Fury. The guy Peter and I had been ghosting for three days. Ned was on the bed with a dart in his neck, a tranquilizer most likely. Nick Fury didn't seem like the type to kill teenagers for no reason. Too much work.
"I saw you two at the funeral but you left pretty quickly. Wanted to enjoy the horrors of high school again?"
"We never graduated so..."
"The important thing is, you're here. I tried to bring you here, you avoided me, and now you're here. What a coincidence."
"Wait... was this a coincidence?"
Fury shrugged, "I used to know everything.Then I come back five years later and now I know nothing. No intel, no team, and two high school kids are dodging my calls. Here's what I do know," Fury placed a hologram on the table, "A week ago a village in Mexico was wiped out by a cyclone. Witnesses say the cyclone had a face."
Fury paused when Ned let out a loud snore, the continued.
"Three days later, a similar event in Milano. A village was-"
Knock knock.
It was Mr. Harrington. Fury leaned back in his chair and pointed his gun at our teacher, who was oblivious to the other man's presence, "Just making the rounds, making sure that no one needs any emotional counseling after today's emotional events."
"No, we're good Mr. Harrington."
"Great, cause I'm not qualified to do that," Mr. Harrington paused when Ned snored, "Oh, he's sleeping. Okay, (Y/n) make sure to get back to your room. No funny business. Goodnight."
He closed the door behind him and Fury began again.
"A village was destroyed by what may well be a world threatening-"
"Hey babe, are you okay? You aren't answering my texts." Betty.
"Uh, he's asleep!" Peter called.
"Already? Okay."
"That's why the appearance of-"
"Hey boy, the water today could have been filled with dangerous bacteria so be sure to..."
"The next person who interrupts me will get shot," Fury growled, "Suit up and meet me outside."
I left the room and grabbed my cuffs from my suitcase, telling MJ where I was going just in case I got held back for some reason. I snuck past the staff and met Peter and Fury outside on a boat. Tapping my cuffs together, my suit covered my pajamas.
Halfway through the ride, Fury spoke, "Stark left these for you."
"Really?" Peter took the sunglasses case with care.
"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Stark said you wouldn't get that because it's not a Star Wars reference," Fury chuckled.
We pulled into a side tunnel and parked. It was a temporary base of operations, with minimal staff moving about and operating it.
"You can take off the masks, everyone here has seen you without them. You'd be feigning anonymity and breathing through spandex for no reason." As directed, Peter and I removed our masks, "There we have Maria Hill. That is Dmitri, and this is Mr. Beck."
It was the mysterious man we'd fought with earlier that day.
"Mysterio?"
"What?"
"Oh, it's just what our friends call you."
"Well, you can call me Quentin," he shook our hands, "You handled yourselves well out there today. We could have used people like you on my world."
"Thanks."
"Your world?"
Fury cut in to explain, "Mr. Beck is from Earth, just not ours."
"There are multiple realities. This is Earth-616. I'm from Earth-833."
"I'm sorry, you're saying there's a multiverse?" Peter's eyes grew wide with excitement, "I thought that was just a theory. I mean, we're talking about a multitude of quantum strings and an endless amount of equations and how does that even work with quantum shifting... Sorry."
"Never apologize for being the smartest in the room," Beck smiled, activating the holo-table in front of us, "They were born in stable orbits and black holes. Creatures formed from the four major elements. Air, water, fire, earth."
In my head I was screaming. It was Avatar, and I was literally Katara.
"They have a scientific name, but we just called them elementals."
"Versions of them exist throughout mythology," Maria changed the picture.
"Turns out the myths are real."
That offered some explanation as to why I couldn't control them. They were larger-than-life beings, sentient beyond any human.
"Like Thor," I offered, "We study him in physics class now."
"These myths are threats."
"They first appeared on my Earth many years ago. We mobilized and fought them, but each time they grew stronger. I was part of the last battalion against them. All we did was delay the inevitable." The image of his world was overcome with fire.
"The elementals are here now. Attacking the same coordinates, our satellites confirm it."
"You can thank Mr. Beck for destroying the other three. There's only one left. Fire."
"The strongest of them all. He destroyed my world... he took my family." Beck twisted a wedding ring on his finger.
"I'm sorry."
"We have one mission. Kill it. And you're coming with us."
"To Prague? I'm sorry, but this all seems like big league stuff. And we're just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and Riptide."
"Bitch please, you've been to space."
"On accident," I corrected.
"Sir, come on there's gotta be somebody else you can use! What about Thor?"
"Off world."
"Doctor Strange?"
"Unavailable."
"Captain Marvel?"
"Don't invoke her name."
"The X-Men?" I offered.
"Their members are scattered on other missions."
Damn. We really were the only heroes available. That didn't mean either of us were happy about it though.
"Sir, we're on thin ice already. If our classmates see us like this after Washington DC then they'll figure out who we are and then... then the whole world will know who we are." Peter had a good point. All the excuses in the world from Harry, MJ, and Ned wouldn't save us from discovery.
Fury's eye narrowed, "Okay. I understand."
"You do?" I was shocked at that. Fury wasn't the type to let things go.
"Yes. Why don't you get back to the hotel before your friends miss you? Dmitri will take you back."
"See ya kids," Beck bid us goodbye.
"Yeah."
As we were walking back to the boat, I leaned in to mutter, "Somehow, I doubt that Fury will leave us alone."