"Oh my god! Did Spider-man just kill her?!"
In an instant the webbing that was once so tight around Peter was ripped off by him as he made his way to Astrid.
He got flashbacks of the illusions Mysterio put him under as he held her on the ground, feeling the tears well up.
"Astrid. No. I- wake up!"
"Son, she need to get to the hospital."
"No," let out a shaky breath when he realized she wasn't bleeding but instead had the tiniest hole in her neck indicating she had been injected with something- something probably lethal, "She needs Mr. Stark."
"Tony Stark? He's dead!"
"Well then the next best thing," Peter said in a hurry as he scooped her up.
Before anyone could stop him, he ran off, putting on Edith who immediately began telling him on the progress she made stopping Mysterio's men.
Peter was quick to cut her off though, "I need you to call Mr. Stark."
She did just that and in no time Tony's voice could be heard.
"Mr. Stark!"
"Nope. Sorry, kiddo, today I'm strictly the man-"
"It's Astrid! She's hurt! Someone injected her with something- I- I think they poisoned her."
There was silence on the other line but only for a second before Pepper yelled, "Bring her to our house now!"
Peter had never run faster in his life.
By the time he got to the cabin the anxious Stark family were all waiting outside for his arrival.
"How the hell did this happen?" Harley asked the second Peter handed her over to Tony.
"She just finished shutting down the Daily Bugle's broadcast and we were talking in the alley cause-"
"Cause what? What could have been so important that you go to the one place you know a bad guy is bound to be?" Tony asked as he carefully placed her on the impromptu work station when Peter stopped short.
"Cause... it came back."
"What came back?" Morgan asked, a permanent frown on her face.
"No," Pepper sighed though, already knowing what he meant, "We still haven't found that last thing that we need for the cure."
"Well we tested her blood and it's definitely back. We were talking about it- I was freaking out more then this man came out of nowhere- oh! That's not even the weirdest thing! He had my webbing!"
"What?!" Tony grew wide-eyed as he looked up from Astrid momentarily.
"How in the hell does he have your one of a kind webbing?" Harley frowned.
"I don't know! I didn't even see his face-"
"You sure it wasn't one of Mysterio's illusions?"
"Mysterio is dead."
"And those webs were the real deal. I don't even know how the hell I got out of it-"
"I'm thinking it was an illusion," Tony announced as he stepped away from Astrid.
"What? No it wasn't! Why did you stop?!"
"She has a pulse. It's faint but it's there and I tested her blood-"
"Has she been poisoned? Is there a cure for that? Will it be affected by her disease-"
"She has no disease, Parker."
"What?"
"Her blood. It's clean. There's no poison or any sign of the disease whatsoever."
"What?!" everyone asked now, confusion hitting the small group even more.
"But- no- it wasn't an illusion. Look."
Peter pulled out some of the webs that he managed to rip off and stuff into his pocket, presenting it to them.
Tony inspected it closely while Harley scoffed at the sight, "That's definitely the real deal. No illusion about it."
"But how could someone have your webbing?"
"Maybe Peter gave it away on accident," Morgan suggested.
Pepper smiled, brushing her hair back, "I don't think that's it, sweetheart."
"It isn't!" Peter was quick to defend himself, "I swear I didn't give anything to anyone!"
"Well then someone obviously broke into fortress de Parker," Harley suggested as he began to look at the tests Tony ran on Astrid.
"Or- what if when the facility was destroyed information got out- or- or there's a mole! I wouldn't be surprised. There was Mysterio."
"Yeah, or he could've gotten the information when you gave him Edith."
"You did what?!" Tony grew wide-eyed.
"He didn't know that bit," Peter glared at Harley who gulped nervously.
"I... I thought you told him."
"He told me that Mysterio stole Edith from him which didn't make sense at the time but I believed it cause Osborn over there insisted he was telling the truth- god I should've known!"
"That wasn't so smart, daddy," Morgan giggled, earning a small glare from Tony before he began lecturing Peter.
"I hate to use this card," Peter said after he had enough, "But my girlfriend just got attacked. Don't you think you should give me a break?"
"A break?! A break?!"
"That wasn't so smart, Peter," Morgan now teased him who buried his head in his hands.
He was sure there was no stopping Tony- at least until all the gears in Pepper's head finally turned and she came up with a very plausible, and scary, thought as to why Astrid was attacked so randomly.
"It was to get to Tony."
"What?" Harley asked first.
"What are you going on about, honey?" Tony sighed, "I'd really like to continue yelling at Mr. Parker here."
"The reason Astrid was attacked randomly. No one knows Peter's name to be linked with Tony's or Iron Man or any superhero for that matter- she made sure of that when she shut that broadcast down. But she has literally been flying around in a suit made by Tony- her identity out there for the world to know. For everyone to know that if there is anyone linked to Tony Stark and the Avengers- it's her."
Peter was quiet for a moment before sighing, "I should've let the Daily Bugle release my name- to save her."
"Shut up, kid," Tony brushed him off, "Honey. You aren't making any sense here."
"What are you talking about? It makes perfect sense!" Pepper let out a shaky breath, "What if this was a trap? To get your location?"
"But to everyone else, he's dead," Harley frowned now.
"Unless... did you mention my name, kid?"
"I- yes but only after."
"There could've easily been someone waiting to see where you went."
"No way. I ran super fast-"
"Mysterio's men has drones. You can't outrun drones."
"Yeah but-"
Peter was cut off by Astrid sitting up, gasping for air, surprising everyone.
"Astrid!"
"Astrid, honey, are you okay?"
"I might die soon so you saving my life would've been for nothing."
"Really, Tony?"
"I'm so sorry, babe. I should've moved faster or-"
"Gwen."
That instantly shut everyone up, all feeling even more confused all over again.
"What?"
"What about, Gwen?" Peter asked nervously.
"It was Gwen," Astrid breathed out, "Gwen was the one in the alley."
"There's no physical way- it was definitely an illusion. Pepper, get the kids out of here. If they're coming for me, I don't think they'll care who gets hurt."
"No one is going to hurt you," Astrid insisted as she stood up hastily before anyone could stop her.
"Astrid, you need to sit down and- Parker, get her out of here."
Astrid continued to ignore everyone as she made her way to the front door where she opened it to reveal the same figure from the alley.
"Astrid! Get back!"
"Gwen," she let out a small breath, her eyes wide.
No one expected it but when the figure slid down their hood, surely enough, there stood Gwen Stacy.
"Hi, Astrid."
written: October 30, 2019
posted: April 13, 2020