RIGHT! Welcome to the unplanned, unplugged, unfathomable Act II of First Contact. Gotta have a few feels in this chapter. Gwen did just die/didn't die but got seriously hurt. Hooray for as-of-yet-unexplained cosmic loopholes! Enjoy! - Darthkvzn
Waiting on Gwen to exit her medically induced coma/regenerating sleep was nerve wracking enough, but I'd completely forgotten about the fact that she had a loving family that had no idea what she'd just been through last night.
-"There's a middle-aged blonde woman yelling at F.R.I.D.A.Y. in the Tower's lobby." -said Tony, walking into the room.
I winced. "That would be my mother-in-law."
Tony smirked knowingly. "I figured. She somehow knows her daughter is here, and is demanding to see her. Do I let her in? I mean she'll have to sign a few NDAs and all."
I nodded. "It wouldn't be ok to keep her away. Even if she is gonna kill me on sight."
-"You're not very good at this whole secret identity thing, are you?" -he asked, deadpan.
-"Says the man who outed himself on national TV." -I said, raising an eyebrow.
Tony smirked. "Point taken. Remind me not to let Pepper go anywhere near you. Wouldn't want you two to bond over how well you can quip against me." -he said, then departed.
I rolled my eyes, but smiled. Tony Stark, so far, had proven to be kind of a jerk - one with a heart of gold, obviously, since he was a superhero, but still a jerk. Maybe his casual dismissal of me when compared with the Captain's appreciation made me a little bit biased, but I suppose Tony's acceptance wasn't as quick to come as Rogers'.
I made my way out to the elevator, putting the mask on to meet Helen Stacy, when the doors opened, revealing the woman in question, who blinked in surprise at my appearance.
Then, of course, she punched me.
-"GAH, geez, that smarts." -I said, clutching at my nose, which was, amazingly, bleeding. Mrs. Stacy clutched her injured hand, and glared at me. I grimaced nervously, sputtering apologies before she stopped me.
-"I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is what happened to my daughter." -she said in a clipped tone.
I nodded quickly. "Yes ma'am, this way ma'am." -I said, leading the way.
The Avengers' medical facilities were half a level down (weird architecture choice, I thought). Dr. Cho was looking at a few papers outside, evidently advised that her patient's mother was coming, and not exactly happy. The blonde turned at me. "You, stay outside." -she said. I pursed my lips under the mask, but nodded.
She looked at the doctor, who frowned at me, but said nothing. "Good morning Mrs. Stacy. Mr. Stark told me you were coming. Please, come in, and let's have a seat." -she said, and they went inside.
My enhanced hearing didn't pick up any sobs or wailing, just quiet chatter I couldn't quite make heads or tails out of. I waited, pacing outside for what seemed like forever. Dr. Cho had briefed me on the full details of Gwen's situation earlier today - she was showing signs of intense REM sleep, which was apparently good news. They'd induced a comma so the Cradle's effects would not be disrupted by the patient moving too much, but they should repair most of the damage. Excluding, of course, the actual paralysis. The Cradle's technology worked by enhancing the body's natural repair process, accelerating and improving it with nanotech and a bunch of fancy bio-nonsense I frankly didn't understand. Unfortunately, that meant it couldn't heal things that the body itself wouldn't be able to, like the paraplegic condition my girlfriend was currently experiencing.
Mrs. Stacy walked out of the room, her face seemingly set in stone. "Is there someplace we can speak?" -she asked.
-"I think so. F.R.I.D.A.Y.?" -I asked the ceiling.
If the AI startled Gwen's mom, she didn't show it. "Two doors down your right." -she said quickly.
I led the way to the small conference room, one I imagined the Avengers used to discuss medical related issues. Mrs. Stacy closed the door behind her, then slumped. She looked at me for a moment, then spoke up. "Please, get the mask off, Peter. I need to look you in the eyes."
I blinked - how the heck...did Dr. Cho tell her…? I debated going for a white lie, but saw in her eyes that she knew, and that fact wasn't going to change, mask on or off. I took the mask off, revealing my bruised face, still healing for what I surmised would be a couple more hours, give or take. My enhanced healing usually took care of the worst things within two or three days, but Harry's punches and kicks had been as strong, if not more so than my own.
Mrs. Stacy studied my face for a moment, before plopping down on a chair. I stayed up, my lips set in a line. "How...are you?" -I asked tentatively.
She snorted. "What, no quips? Not even gonna ask me how I know your secret identity?" -she asked.
I laughed humorlessly. "My identity is not nearly as secret as I would've liked."
She mimicked my expression. "You were pretty terrible, the first few months. I must've caught you three, maybe four times before you two got smarter. I never saw you since, but then again I'd already found out."
I shook my head. Maybe I should've been a little more careful, but I was so glad to be back with Gwen that I'd evidently gotten a little careless. That was probably how S.H.I.E.L.D. had found out, too. "Why not stop her, though? Stop us from happening, I mean."
She offered a small smirk. "It wasn't for lack of trying, I'll tell you that. We had a lot of discussions over you, what you were, and what that meant, going forward. Imagine my shock when I tried to surprise her, telling her you were the Spider-Man everyone feared, the one who'd killed her father that night - she already knew who you were. From the start, it seemed."
-"I didn't..." -I tried to tell her, but she shook her head. "I know you didn't kill George. At first, I didn't believe Gwen. Almost lost my mind - why would she defend her father's killer? It made no sense to me. But then I saw you, risking your life every day. I saw how happy it- you made Gwen. I had to force myself to see the other side, and consider the possibility that maybe the police was wrong about you. That's when I finally gave in, and actually listened to Gwen. She always was too smart for her own good."
I smiled sadly. She saw it and smiled as well. "Peter, I hope you know that I can't forgive you."
I grimaced, but nodded. She shook her head. "Don't. Listen to me: I can't forgive you because there is nothing to forgive. I knew what I was getting into when I married a policeman. I knew that maybe one day, he'd put on that badge, and strap that gun to his hip, and wouldn't come back. I hated the man as much as I loved him for it. And I hate to say it, but Gwen turned out to be just like her mother. Being the love of a superhero...it's new territory, but it's fairly obvious that the risks are exponentially higher. And Gwen, she knew this. She'd given this so much thought, and still wanted to be with you. I couldn't do anything to convince her otherwise. As much as it pains me to say this, my daughter is in love with Spider-Man, and that is not going to change, even if it kills her. So, instead of asking you to atone for sins that you haven't committed, I want you to promise me something."
I was baffled. Here, I was expecting the woman to outright beat the hell out of me, even give me to the authorities (and I would've let her, too), and she'd known all along. I suppose, in retrospect, it made sense. She'd never once questioned when Gwen lied to her that I'd come in through the front door instead of the window.
-"I'm not George. I know what he asked of you, and God, I love him, and miss him so much, but asking you to stay away from Gwen wasn't only hateful and cruel, it was short-sighted. The threat to Gwen's safety will always be there. This person who hurt her last night? He'd have found out about your history eventually, and used it against you, maybe in a way you wouldn't have been able to save her, let alone whatever other enemies you make in the future. And I know you saved her, Peter Parker. My daughter is alive thanks to you. So what I'm asking you to promise is that you'll never stay away from Gwen. That you'll protect her even when she asks you not to. Because God help me, if you abandon her again, I will find you, and I will kill you, superpowers or not."
I smiled sheepishly - I had no doubt that she would deliver on that threat. I won't lie - being with Gwen was gnawing on my psyche right now. The decision to push her away again had crossed my mind, but she was right. If Harry had found out, then so could others. Hell, her late husband and the man who killed him had found out way too quickly.
In the end, considering my feelings for her, my answer was as expected. "I promise."
The woman nodded tiredly, then got up. "Now come. Let's wash the blood of your face."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "You have a meaner right hook than 90% of the thugs I've ever met, by the way."
She laughed, then winked at me. "I grew up in Hell's Kitchen, Peter. Gwen didn't learn all her tricks from her father."
I offered a wry smile, leading the way to the common room.
The events of the day so far had me reeling slightly, a fact not helped at all by my refusal to eat anything until Gwen got better. F.R.I.D.A.Y. would have none of it, though, having some of Stark's little droids follow me around with trays of food that I eventually found too appetizing to refuse. With Gwen's mom by her bedside, I gave in, sitting down in the large kitchen, and eating a delicious omelette. Steve and the Black Widow walked in on me stuffing my face, to which I offered a sheepish grin.
-"You go right ahead. I swear, you're thinner than her." -said the Captain, pointing to his partner.
Natasha swatted at him playfully, then sat down next to me. "How're you feeling, Peter?" -she asked.
I blinked a couple of times. "Better. Not as angsty as before. Which is a miracle named Helen Stacy, honestly. I swear, I expected not to survive today." -I said.
Steve smirked. "In-laws can be a bit too much sometimes, apparently. Not that I would know, I suppose."
My eyebrow raised. "Never been in a relationship, Captain? Tumblr has paired you off with every female Avenger, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, that girl from the Chitauri invasion you rescued, and most of the male Avengers."
He grimaced. "God, no. None of the above, thank you very much." -he said.
Romanoff grinned. "What about Sharon? You've gone on a couple of dates already. That's more than you've gone on before." -she said.
My mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "Cap's got a girlfriend, Cap's got a girlfriend!" -I sang.
The man covered his face in exasperation. "I am seriously reconsidering my offer to take you to the Compound, Parker." -he said sternly.
I blinked. "The Compound?"
He shrugged. "The name's a bit of a work in progress. Avengers Tower is still officially the Avengers' main base, but it's a little too public right now, with all the fallout we have to deal with after Sokovia. After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony and I figured it might come in handy to have a few extra bases, just in case - the Compound is one of them, a few clicks north of here, in upstate New York. We've chosen it as the base for our next project, which we'd like for you to join."
Natasha nodded, grabbing a piece of toast from my tray. "After the Battle of Sokovia, the Avengers were officially three members short - Hawkeye is on paternity leave, Iron Man is on a self-imposed time-out, and the Hulk is...well, we don't really know where he is."
Steve handed me a collapsible StarkTablet he'd had in his pocket. "As soon as the Avengers were formed, we realized that, except possibly for Thor, we were not immortal. We knew that, one day, the time would come for us to leave the fight for good. We're relatively young now, sure, but time flies when you're saving the world. We came up with a simple plan, really. We would look for and eventually train new Avengers to take up arms in the fight to keep the world turning."
The Widow went on. "Enhanced individuals are more common than you'd think. We just keep them very quiet - most of the time. Just last month, half a dozen new enhanced popped up. Two of these are Avengers now. If we want to stay ahead of that particular curve, we have to keep recruiting, and training the rookies."
I saw the files - massive budgets (bigger than I could even imagine) had been allocated toward the training of new recruits, accounting for everything from super strength, to the ability to warp reality. "This is amazing. But...I already said I can't be an Avenger. I love being a hero, don't get me wrong, but I can't devote my entire life to it in good conscience. Gwen would kill me - or try to join me, I don't know which is worse. Plus, there's the whole age thing you mentioned."
Steve smirked. "Which is why we're not asking you to join the Avengers. We'd like for you to join the Avengers Academy. As a tutor."
Alright! That's that for this chapter. I'll be real honest with you guys. I'm a bit terrified to continue this fic, even though logic tells me it's necessary. This is my most successful fic, period. It was very well received in its original version, and I'd like to do my best to keep it that way. So hopefully this feels right for you. I'd like some feedback, if you'd be so kind!
A few tiny references are strewn about this chapter, mostly for continuity's sake. Still, if you find any mistakes, don't hesitate to point them out. My schedule doesn't currently allow for much spellchecking, unfortunately.
Anyway, if you have any questions, shoot me a review or PM, you awesome possums! Until next time - Darthkvzn
