°°°
ELEANOR SLOWLY OPENED HER eyes and realized that uncomfortable, strange feeling she had a couple of months ago was back. Something felt off. She slowly rose from her bed and stretched out to turn her new alarm clock off. She looked around and just felt as if bricks were poured onto her shoulders.
"Hey El, would you like some-" Her mother barged into her room, placing an earring on her ear, but stopped talking as soon as she saw her daughter sitting on her bed, staring at nothing. "You okay?"
"I-I just, I don't know. I feel off, like something's off." Eleanor replied, quietly. She knew that this feeling was way stronger than last time.
Her mother approached her and sat beside her. She slowly massaged her daughter's back, hugging her.
"Drink some water and eat something, you look pale. Don't worry about it, this feeling's probably gonna wear off throughout the day. Aren't you guys going to MoMA today?"
Eleanor smiled slightly. "Yeah."
"Maybe you're just nervous." Her mother returned, kissing Eleanor's forehead briefly. "Come on, Peter's probably already waiting downstairs."
The teenager changed into some jeans, a band tee, and her brown jacket. She then opted for some black converse. As she placed her backpack strap on her shoulder, she eyed her white suit that hanged inside her closet. She hesitated a bit and took it, just as a precaution. Eleanor then took her phone out and quickly dialed Peter.
"Hello?" Peter's morning voice responded.
"Hey, are you downstairs already?"
"No, not yet. Why?"
"I just," Eleanor placed her phone between her shoulder and cheek as she folded her suit neatly, behind all her books. She knew that taking her suit to school would be incredibly dangerous, so she took a black scarf and wrapped it around the white fabric, making it look like it was the bottom of her bag. "I don't know. I feel something's off. Take your suit."
"Okay.." Peter's words dragged along lightly. "You okay, El?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. See you downstairs in a few minutes."
°°°
"Seriously guys, she's scaring me." MJ whispered to Ned and Peter, watching Eleanor buy some snacks at the vending machine in front of them. She looked scared, almost empty. The girl blankly stared at the machine, as her snacks slowly fell.
"She'll be fine," Ned commented, looking at both of her friends. "But we need to head to the buses now, or they'll leave us behind."
"You guys go ahead," Peter started. "I'll talk to El."
MJ and Ned's lips formed into a straight line as they walked towards the entrance of the school. Eleanor had just picked up her chips and juice box when she realized Peter was right next to her.
"Hey, um," he said. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," Eleanor answered, avoiding his gaze while she placed her snacks on her bag. "I'm fine."
"El," he spoke again, and as soon as the girl placed her bag back on her spine he placed a hand on her arm. "You know you can count on me, right?"
"Yeah Parker, I know." She returned, looking at his eyes. She smiled in reassurance since his stern look didn't change one bit. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. This feeling will wear off. I promise."
Peter gave a close mouth smile and nodded. "Alright, let's get going."
As the teenagers walked to the entrance and got on the bus on time, they were in silence. Just when the large vehicle started to leave the school parking lot, Eleanor gazed out the window beside Peter, wishing what her mother had said was true: she was excited for the museum, not worried about something happening. She took a deep sigh and kept staring out of the window. It's going to be a nice day, she thought to herself.
On the other hand, Peter felt his doom was getting closer and closer: He had only practiced what he wanted to tell Eleanor in front of his mirror twice, and he was worried he'd mess up in any way. Aunt May, Ned, and MJ told him there was nothing he should be worried about, but he always answered the same thing: It was Eleanor who they were talking about. The incredibly badass girl who saved him without knowing him that well, his best friend, his literal partner against crime.
Peter's hands were fidgeting with the hem of his shirt as the school bus drove through the city. He also felt himself getting dizzy and took a long, deep breath that caught Eleanor's attention.
"You okay?" She asked, sitting up straight, glancing at him.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just excited." He replied, placing his arm on the seat in front of him, resting his head and closing his eyes.
"Are you sure?" She questioned as she noticed the bus started crossing a bridge. Eleanor lightly touched his arm. "I have some water if you-"
And at that moment, Eleanor didn't know if she was dreaming or not, but she felt as if something clicked. And she knew Peter felt it too, looking by how the tiny hairs in his arm stood up straight. He looked at his arm, and then at her, widening his eyes. Eleanor turned around and saw a giant spaceship shaped like a ring floating in the sky far away from them. It was massive, something she'd never seen before.
She looked back at Peter, feeling her heart pounding inside her chest. Without saying anything, she nodded: giving him the sign that they'd fight this together. He smiled back and nodded as well.
"Hey," Peter reached out to touch Ned's shoulder in front of him, making his friend take out his earphones. "We need a distraction."
Ned looked out Eleanor's window and gasped, before yelling: "Holy shit, we're all gonna die!"
All the students traveled to the back of the bus, gawking out the windows. Meanwhile, Peter had taken his web shooter, opening the exit window across them. Eleanor then seized his backpack, setting it on her back as Peter exited the window, and helped her get out. Both teenagers placed their masks on with one hand as Peter grasped the edge of the window. She hugged him tightly as he shot another web to the bridge's structure, and jumped from the bus's surface.
"So," Peter yelled as he swung building by building. "Does this mean you have a spider-sense too?!"
Eleanor, with her eyes closed and holding Peter as tight as she could, yelled back: "Don't know! it only happens during major events! James, what's going on?"
"James?" Peter inquired. "Who's James?"
"It's my Friday!" Eleanor yelled back. "James?"
"An unknown spacecraft entered Earth's atmosphere about 10 minutes ago. There's only one security camera near the area."
James then displayed a restaurant's exterior security camera, where Eleanor could distinguish Mr. Stark, along with three other people.
"Mr. Stark's there! With three other people." Eleanor informed the other teen.
The teenagers eventually landed inside an alley and went to opposite sites of a huge dumpster to change in peace. Eleanor took her white suit out of her bag and started taking her clothes off. A few moments later, she zipped the rest of her suit up, her hair tied into a tight ponytail. She grabbed her bag and looked around for Peter. As soon as her eyes landed on him, she noticed he just finished placing his clothes back inside his backpack.
"Peter, what do we do with our backpacks?" Eleanor asked.
Peter then took hers away from her hand with a web and attached them to the dumpster's wall.
"Are you sure nobody's going to steal our bags that way?" The girl inquired as Peter walked alongside her.
"I'm sure, don't worry."
"James," The girl addressed again. "Where's Mr. Stark right now?"
"He's currently in Washington State Park." The robotic English voice returned.
"Nice, let's go there then," Peter spoke, before looking at Eleanor directly. "Hey, you're comfortable flying down there? You know I don't mind carrying you."
"I'm fine, thanks." She said, and before Peter could shoot a web to a nearby construction, Eleanor grabbed his arm slightly. "Peter,"
Both teenagers looked at each other in silence.
"Just," she continued, taking her mask off for a moment to show that she was talking seriously. "Stay safe, okay? I don't know what I'd do without you."
Peter took a deep breath and took his mask off too. Both teenagers did not know how big of a fight this could be.
"I'll be fine, El. You'll be safe too. This will end in no time." He replied, giving her a smile. She smiled at her best friend and placed her mask on. "Let's get this done then."
°°°
Eleanor wasn't going to lie, she did feel like Iron Man when she got to fly. She couldn't thank Mr. Stark enough for making her electric powers convert themselves into more stable energy. She flew above the city, both of her legs together and her hands on her sides, going forward. She hovered above the park when she got there earlier than Peter did.
"James, were all people near here evacuated?" Eleanor asked, looking around for Tony. She then found him, fighting against what Eleanor thought was a large alien holding a chain. The Mann wore his suit and threw an energy beam at the strange creature.
"Yes, there is no human near the area." James rejoined.
"Peter," She called, and just in time, her friend landed on top of the nearby building. "We gotta help Mr. Stark. I'll get the alien from behind."
Eleanor didn't need a reply, she flew down at the same moment the alien lunged his chain with a hammer on the end towards Tony. Peter stopped it from hitting the billionaire.
"Hey, man." Peter greeted the alien. "What's up, Mr. Stark?"
"Kid, where'd you come from?" Eleanor heard the man ask.
"Field trip to MoMA-" Peter returned, but the alien grabbed him and threw him away. Eleanor formed ion energy spheres on both of her hands and threw one of them at the giant figure. It wasn't harmful enough, since the alien simply turned around. He launched the chain again, this time at her, but she rose upward just in time. She saw that her energy blasts where at 5%, so she lifted the bar up to 20%
"What the hell is going on, Mr. Stark?" The girl asked, joining the field.
"Oh shit, you're here too?" He asked breathy, battling against the giant creature. "Uh, he's from space. He came here to steal a gem from a wizard."
Iron Man and Rogue took turns to shoot blasts at the alien as they flew around him, but in an attempt of grabbing them both, the alien grabbed Eleanor by the foot and threw her to a nearby tree. She felt great pain as her back clashed with the bark, and fell onto the ground.
"Uh, can't you be more specific, Mr. Stark? What color is the gem? So we'll know if he took it or not." Eleanor questioned, lifting herself up and flying skyward again. Peter leaped onto the alien, but it caught him again and tossed him nearby.
"It's green. It's green and tiny." Tony Stark answered as he used both hands as energy guns, pointing at the alien who now, had a shield. He lunged what seemed half of a taxi to Mr. Stark, but Peter held it with a web and threw it back at the alien. The alien quickly stood up, and with his hammer jumped towards Tony, who formed a metal shield with his suit. Eleanor, from above, shot energy blasts at it, keeping her distance. Out of nowhere, a thing went flying above them: it seemed like a person with a cape.
"Pete," Mr. Stark spoke, "That's the wizard. Get on it. El, I'll need your help with this guy."
"On it!" Peter returned and followed the man.
Eleanor landed on the ground and shot energy rays at the alien from behind once again. The huge figure turned and hurled the hammer towards the teen. She placed her hands formed like a cross on top of her head and noticed that something obstructed the hit: a shield made out of her own energy.
"Mr. Stark, you never fail to surprise me." She noted as Tony blasted more energy blasts at the alien from above.
"Look who you're talking to, kid." Tony returned. The alien looked up, and Eleanor took the opportunity to fire an energy ray at its leg, making it fall onto the ground. Eleanor attempted to fly again, but the alien seized her small frame and tossed her away like a rag doll. Eleanor collided against another tree and fell onto the grass.
"Uh, Mr. Stark? I'm being beamed up!" Eleanor heard Peter speak, and she felt as if her heart stopped.
"Wait, what? Where are you?" The girl asked, lifting her head to see Mr. Stark still confronting the alien. She rose up and flew upward.
"Hang on, kid." Tony replied, shooting energy blasts at the creature. Eleanor mimicked his actions. The alien eventually grasped Tony and threw him onto the dirt. The teen expected him to get back up quickly, but it seemed he had his arms tied. Eleanor, once again, landed on the grass and formed a large energy ball. Before the alien could turn around, she lunged it at him, and she could swear she heard the alien's skin sizzle. She fought against it, projecting energy blasts as he ran towards her. In one of those attempts, he jumped, throwing his hammer at her, and Eleanor formed her energy shield, but she received nothing. She lifted her gaze to see a large, orange circumference in front of her. Her eyes and mind didn't want to believe it: Was it a portal?
The circle closed and it chopped the alien's hand. Eleanor turned to her side and saw two men, one was the one who made the portal, and the man next to him was definitely Dr. Bruce Banner.
Iron Man freed himself from being tied up, and spoke: "Wong, you're invited to my wedding."
He started to fly skyward, but Eleanor stopped him.
"Mr. Stark, wait!" She quickly stood up, her suit covered in dirt. "I'll go."
"No," The man turned to face her. "You'll stay here."
"Why does Peter get to go to space?" Eleanor complained.
"Believe me, he's going to be scolded at as soon as the kid lands on Earth. You stay here. Banner, keep your eyes on her, she could follow me in any minute." Tony spoke as he looked at Bruce, and then looked back at Eleanor. "Stay. Here."
Without saying anything else, he soared away. Eleanor took a long deep breath and her head spun to look at the man beside her.
"H-hey, sorry about that." She started, wishing she had not made a bad impression on the doctor. "I-I'm Eleanor."
The girl extended her hand, and the man didn't hesitate to shake it.
"Bruce Banner. I assume you're one of Tony's protégés?"
"I know." The girl smiled nervously. "I-I mean, I've read many of your articles and work, my father always had them around, and I-I really respect you. I guess this is not the best place for a first impression. And yeah, I'm one of them."
Bruce chuckled. "Thanks, and uh, don't worry about it kid."
Eleanor then glanced at the other man as well. "Hi, I'm Eleanor." She raised her hand gently and waved.
"Hey, I'm Wong."
"So, could I take you home?" Bruce Banner looked at her.
"Y-yeah, I'll just need to grab my phone-" Eleanor expressed before she heard Peter talk inside her mask.
The audio was a bit messy, but Eleanor caught on three words: "I can't breathe!"
"You're too high up. You're running out of air." Tony's voice was clear.
"Yeah! That makes sense." Peter spoke breathily.
"Pete?" Eleanor whispered to herself, as she distanced herself a bit from the men beside her. "James, connect me to Peter."
"It seems he's exiting the atmosphere, I can't enable a solid connection."
"Peter? Peter!" Eleanor called but received no answer. Her hands formed into fists on her sides.
She spun back, and it was only Bruce Banner now, the other man had apparently left.
"Sorry, uh, I thought Peter was calling me. H-he was picked up by the ship." She explained to the man, who stared back at her in pity.
"Did you receive a response?" He questioned.
Eleanor looked up to the sky, and saw that the ship was nowhere to be seen. Her stomach took a turn. "No."
"Don't worry kid, you'll probably get a response later." Bruce added. "Now, let's take you home."
"Wait, I just remembered I can call my mother through my mask, it'll be just one second, doctor." Eleanor explained.
"Don't worry, I kinda have to make a call as well."
The girl nodded and distanced herself from Bruce.
"James, call Amelia Page." She ordered, and James rapidly followed.
"Hey, it's Amelia." Her voicemail played. "Leave a message if-"
"Hang up James, thanks." She requested and took her mask off. She knew her mother would have the pit filled with people injured from the fight, and wouldn't be able to call her. With her arms crossed, she approached Bruce, who had just finished his call.
"Any luck?" He asked, as soon as he saw the teen, he squinted his eyes while gazing at her.
"Uh, no, my mother's a nurse, so she's probably loaded with patients at the moment." Eleanor answered, a bit uncomfortable by the look of the man before her.
"Oh okay, you can join me at the compound, I think you'll be safer there." He spoke, and they started to walk one beside another. "You look strangely a lot like an old friend of mine."
Eleanor grinned at Bruce. "I do?"
"Yeah, he was a genius. Haven't heard from him in a while." Bruce commented, and the teenager felt goosebumps.
"Uh, w-what's his name?" Eleanor inquired, but everything pointed out that the answer was the one she expected:
"William Page." Bruce returned. "Great guy. Great work, too."
Eleanor's heart felt a pang.
"Uh," She started, "William Page is- was my father, I-I'm Eleanor Page."
Bruce stopped walking, a dumbfounded look on his face. "You're Will's kid? That's why you looked so familiar. But wait, was? What happened?"
A knot formed itself inside Eleanor's throat. She did not know how to break the news. Even if it had been almost a year ago now, her scars weren't healed yet.
"T-there was an explosion, at the Stark Tower in San Francisco. Uh, I was there with him. T-the arc reactor that powered the tower was overcharged, I think. I-I was the only survivor."
"Oh, man." The doctor then approached the teen and hugged her. "I'm so sorry about your loss. He was a great friend."
The teenager could not understand how her father never mentioned he was a close friend of Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. Eleanor grinned, and hugged the man back, eventually breaking the hug. "Thanks, doctor."
"How's you mother? Amelia, right?" Bruce asked as they started walking again. "It's been years since I last saw her."
"Y-yeah, she's fine. She's currently at her shift." The teenager responded, trying to not shed a tear.
"So, you moved here after the-" Bruce interrupted himself, but later resumed. "event?"
"Yeah, Mr. Stark relocated me here months ago. I like it here."
"That's great. So, is that where you got your abilities?" Bruce asked, and Eleanor smiled at the man, gazing at him. "Sorry, it's just that we need a topic to talk about until we walk to an area where we can grab a cab."
Eleanor chuckled and mumbled, "True. Yeah, Mr. Stark ran some tests on me, and the day after I met this guy named something like fire-"
"You mean Fury?" Dr. Bruce Banner asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," The teenager noted. "Him. Along with a woman. They told me my cell regeneration was off the charts, since I was exposed to the arc's energy. But Mr. Stark gave me this suit that converts it to ion energy, more stabilized."
"You know kid," The man spoke, looking at her. "We aren't that different."
Eleanor knew he was right, he was initially exposed by gamma radiation, which turned him into the legendary Hulk.
"I guess so."
"Don't worry kid, you'll be okay. Fury came to me as well, you'll get used to them following you."
That made the teenager laugh, the memory of how she met Mr. Fury on her mind. Before she continued talking, she distinguished the alley where Peter and she had changed. She begged Bruce to wait as she hurriedly ran for her backpack. With her finger, she made a small knife made of energy, and cut through Peter's webs, letting her and Peter's backpack free. She took hers, and she glanced at Peter's. There were too many feelings while staring at the bag that made her stomach turn. She couldn't just leave it here. She seized Peter's bag and then walked back to Bruce.
"Sorry about that." She apologized to the man and continued walking.
"Don't worry." He looked at Peter's bag on her shoulder. "Are you two a thing?"
"What?" She asked. "No, or well, I-I don't know."
Bruce chuckled. "Ah, teenagers."
Both of them laughed, enjoying the small portion of happiness in this storm of chaos. Eleanor knew deep down this wasn't the time to laugh, so she placed a stern look on her face.
"Uh, Doctor-"
"You can call me Bruce kid, do you think I called your father doctor all the time?" He replied, smiling.
She laughed lightly but proceeded with her question. "What's really going on? Mr. Stark told me about this gem-"
"Don't worry kid. By the time we get to the compound, some friends will be there as well, and I'll explain what's going on."
"Friends?" Eleanor asked.
"Yeah. Does the name Steve Rogers ring a bell?"
°°°
a/n: i took so long writing this, i wanted it to be as clear as possible, and I'm also kinda preparing myself for what's about to come. let me know what you think!