Author's Note: And so we enter the fifth instalment of Piper Parker's story. This one will get a bit weird and yeah I've pretty much abandoned the show's continuity at this point. I may do a few other episodes here and there but I honestly don't know. So there is some implied stuff happening here. I wont write it explicit. So please don't ask. I own nothing.

Something New

1 First Steps

"Hello, Midtown High graduating class. We made it. I know it didn't seem like we would a few times these past few years. Between supervillain attacks and finals there were times we thought we would fail, but we made it." Piper Parker smiled at the crowd of blue graduation robes and hats in front of her. She stood behind a podium smiling out at her class. There were several cheers from her classmates. She took a deep breath and continued.

"High school is a trial, it will always be one. But it is a trail that we have endured. Some of us will go on to be scientists, journalists, photographers, artists, philosophers, we will shape the years to come. We are the next generation of heroes, even without the spandex." There was a mummer of laughter through the crowd.

"These days to come will shape the future. We will shape it, so I hope you all remember something a great man once told me that has always stuck with me. With great power comes great responsibility. We are responsible for the future, it will be what we make it. We must use that power for good. So, let's go change the world!" The cheer was resounding as Piper stepped away from the podium adjusting her stole slightly as she stepped back to her seat. Her eyes met Harry's over the crowd and he shot her the thumbs up. She grinned. Glancing over the crowd she spotted Pepper recording from one of the balcony seats. She smiled slightly as the principal, Coulson's replacement when he'd disappeared after SHEILD was dumped all over the internet, introduced their guest speaker and her father stood and sauntered to the podium. He waved as camera's flashed.

"I promise I'm not just here because my daughter goes here." He winked at the crowd and Piper rolled her eyes shaking her head. "No I'm here because you are the future, and that future has never been brighter. As your valedictorian stated you have the power to shape the world." Piper had heard this speech half a dozen times since her father had accepted the invitation to come speak at her graduation. She rubbed her neck slightly. The scars there still itched sometimes. But it had been nearly five months since the Ultron fiasco and she'd been unable to do anything about the scar her evil AI brother had given her. They'd managed to explain it away only because no one had seen Spidergirl nearly get her head taken off by the robot. She refocused as the applause from the end of her father's speech reached her ears. Soon everyone was receiving their diploma's, walking across the stage and shaking hands with the principle and her father. He clapped her on the back as she shook his hand feeling a little silly. Then they were switching their tassels and throwing their hats into the air. Piper couldn't help but join in the cheering as she caught her hat on its way back down.

Soon she was outside the stadium Midtown had rented for graduation, with her friends. Looking back she would never have expected this to be the group she celebrated graduating with. Well that wasn't entirely true. Harry and MJ she'd always known she would be celebrating with but if someone had told her just a year ago that Flash Thompson would be high fiving her and ruffling her hair as they cheered their freedom from public education she would have laughed in their faces. If someone had told her in her freshman year of high school that she would have a tightly knit superhero team around her for graduation she would have assumed they were talking about the Avengers, not a team of her own. Ava was grinning slightly as they posed for pictures. Danny had thrown up a peace sign, Sam was holding up his diploma a gigantic grin on his face as his mother took pictures of the group. Luke looked a touch melancholy but grinned as they initiated a group hug. Harry lifted Piper off the ground and spun her as they laughed, her cap going flying. MJ leaned on Eddie a satisfied smile on her face.

"Always knew you two would end up together before we graduated." Piper laughed as she grabbed Harry's face and kissed him full on the mouth as Flash wolf whistled. Glen grinned at them from his spot at the back of the group. Pepper smiled at the lot of them as they all began to pile into the back of a stretch limo. Tony had rented it for them, along with reservations at a very upscale restaurant to celebrate afterwards. It turned out he'd rented out the whole restaurant, which was not wholly unexpected. They laughed and joked and ate as the afternoon changed to evening.

Each of them was talking about their plans now. Flash was going to Queens College on a full football scholarship. Harry and Piper had both been accepted to Berkley, Harry was going for his MBA and Piper was going for her MBA and a Major in microbiology. MJ was going to Queens College too, for a major in journalism. Ava was headed to the CUNY School of Medicine, she'd taken an interest in learning from Dr. Cho. Danny was heading to Columbia to study philosophy. Sam and Luke had decided to take a year off to explore their options, and stick with their hero work, though not everyone in the room knew that. Piper raised her glass.

"To the future!" The others cheered and clinked their glasses together.

"To the future!" The party stretched on for several hours but eventually they separated. Harry and Piper slipped off away from Happy and caught a cab to Harry's apartment. A few acrobatic hours later they lay together laughing in Harry's room both covered in sweat and extremely happy. Harry wrapped his arm around her and smiled down at her.

"Do you think it'll last?" Piper raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?" He shrugged.

"This peace. I mean I know crime never stops, but there haven't been any big threats since Ultron." He reached up and gently ran his hand over the scars on her neck. "Do you think it'll last?" Piper sat up and shrugged as she hopped out of the bed and pulled her dress back on. Harry watched her a frown on his face.

"I don't know Har." He stood and searched for a minute before he found his boxers and pulled them back on.

"I'm sorry I ruined the mood didn't I?" Piper laughed lightly, but there wasn't much humor in it. She pulled him down for another kiss and walked out of his room and into the workshop he'd converted his father's office into. He frowned as the sounds of tinkering met his ears. She got distracted so easily by talk of the future these days. Ever since she'd had those visions in the pool at Kamar Taj. She would work through the night when she got like this and only her duties as Spidey could pull her out of it. He'd talked to Danny about it but even he hadn't had any solid answers.

All he could say was that whatever she'd been in contact with had been strong enough for him to only be able to describe it as a deity. Harry had been beyond confused by that, but Danny had assured him that many deities from different religions and even some not recognized on Earth were real. It kind of made his head spin if he was honest. She talked in her sleep too. Always mumbling about a device. She kept saying she had to finish it soon but she never seemed satisfied with it. He'd seen her scrap whatever it was three times in the past five months. Even her father couldn't make heads or tails of what she was doing. Harry silently stepped over to the work room on bare feet. Piper was standing at the Holo-table the 3D schematic in front of her slowly rotating.

"Karen give me an exploded view." The device separated into its component parts. When it was all put together it looked a lot like her webshooters but much more complex. She frowned and zoomed in on part of the device. She glared at it like it was the core of Ultron himself. He leaned in the doorway for a while watching her tinker with her schematics. They both jumped when a red figure phased through the wall. Piper rolled her eyes.

"Vis! We talked about doors! Doors are an important part of human society." Vision nodded. If Harry was honest the robot made him a little nervous. But Piper treated him like a younger brother. He looked them over and raised a nonexistent eyebrow. Piper blushed bright red, realizing that she was wearing nothing but her dress, her hair a tangled mess and that Harry was still in just his boxers.

"Don't tell dad." Vision frowned slightly.

"From what I understand this is completely natural behavior for people your age." She slapped a hand over his mouth before he could continue.

"Don't tell dad!" Vision nodded slightly. Piper removed her hand. "What are you doing her Vis?"

"Tony says he wants to talk to you." Piper rolled her eyes and saved her work before she stomped out of the room looking for her shoes and graduation gown.