Danielle West was a mystery. A puzzle Peter Parker so desperately tried to piece together.
Once he thought he had her all figured out, she would go and do something outrageous and he'd have to start from square one. This was one of those instances. The Banquet.
Peter hadn't been one for parties or galas or really any dance where he had to dress up real fancy. For one, he didn't have anyone to really go with, and two, he wasn't sure how to dress for these sort of things and usually ended up looking like a doofus.
But, the Banquet was something he had actually looked forward to because not only had he gotten new dress pants just for the occasion, but because he also had someone to go with. And someone he really enjoyed having as company too, one of his closest friends, Elle... Danielle.
Why had she left him there? If she was going to just ditch him there, why did she bother agreeing to go anyways? To make him look like an idiot? No, Peter knew Danielle wouldn't do that... Then again, did Peter really know her at all?
Gah, it was so frustrating! She was so frustrating? Why did he even care so much anyways? It was just a stupid Banquet. Maybe he was looking too far into this. Maybe she just got scared or had something come up.
... Peter just really needed a break.
So, he did what he normally did at night when May was working the late night shift at her job and he needed to get his mind off of something – go out crime-fighting as Spiderman.
Lately, Peter had been hearing about that new vigilante chick from the Avengers, but it could have been anyone really. Peter wasn't too worried that she was going out-shine him, it wasn't a competition after all... right?
Eh, who knew? All Peter wanted to do was stop some bad guys and get his mind off of Danielle.
Just then, sirens began to whine just a few blocks from the roof top he was perched atop. Peter looked out to where the sirens were coming from and caught sight of a bright orange light illuminating from in between other buildings blocking his view. Soke arose from the building and firetrucks gathered along the street. A fire.
And what better way to get drama off his mind than rescuing people from a burning building?
Peter quickly jumped off the roof and shot out his webs to swing and launch himself from building to building until he reached the roof of a building jut across the street from the fire. When he got a better look, he could tell that this fire wasn't going to be contained. Despite four fire trucks surrounding the building and soaking it with the water hoses, the flames were relentles, eating away at the base structure and everything above it.
"There are people still inside!" A woman from the street down below shouted.
And that was all the incentive Peter needed before swinging from the roof and jumping into an open window of the burning building.
Once he was inside, the smoke filled the room he was in as the flames surrounding it lit up the room in an orange glow. The fabric mask Peter wore made it easy for him to get around without getting suffocated and the goggles he had on his eyes gave him an advantage to see clearer throw the fire and smoke. Now all he had to do was find those people that woman was talking about. How hard could it be? Seven floors of dozens of rooms? Easy...
Peter quickly got started on the floor he had landed on, calling out from room to room and house to house, trying to get a response to see if anyone was inside. It seemed like the entire building was evacuated by the time he got to the very top floor, but just when he was about to duck out of that building before it collapsed, he heard the faint sound of someone coughing.
"Hello?" He shouted in the general direction of the sound. The sounds of breaking glass, cracking wood, and growing flames were loud, but with his enhanced hearing, Peter could make out some more coughs in the distance. "Hey!"
Peter ran as fast as he could towards the sound, knocking over half-burnt furniture nd bursting through thin walls until he reached a smoke-filled room. His eyes scanned the are until they landed upon a small figure lying on the floor. A woman... No, she was too small to be a woman, maybe a kid? He didn't know, but it didn't matter. What mattered was getting her to safety.
Without a second to waster, Peter lifted the small unconscious girl into his arms, tossing one of her arms over his shoulder and carrying her legs with his free arm before running to the nearest window and jumping out. He'd only carried so many people while swinging with his webs, but he was able to get the hang of swinging from building to building with the girl in his arms.
When he finally reached a sensible distance form the building, he set down the girl onto the roof. She was still unconscious, but Peter wasn't sure whether or not she was still in danger from the amount of smoke she most likely had inhaled from the fire.
"Uh, hello?" Peter spoke softly, nudging the girl's arm to see if she was awake. She didn't react. What had he been taught in science class? If someone was responding, he had to check for a pulse, right! ... Where was the pulse? Either the wrist or under the neck.
"Okay, okay," Peter mumbled to himself as he slowly turned the girl from off her side onto her back. But as soon as he did that, the short dark hair that once covered the girl's face, fell back, revealing the one girl he had gone into that fire to forget... "Danielle?"
Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God! Out of all the people he had to save from a burning building, it had to be Danielle? The one person he was trying to forget! Life really did hate him sometimes, didn't it? Well, hey, maybe it was fate. Maybe he was meant to save her. But why? Why would fate have him save Danielle after they argued and basically stopped being friends?
Come on, man, pull yourself together! He thought to himself. This is Danielle, and she's hurt. You're Spiderman, you've gotta help her.
"Right, right," Peter mumbled to himself. "This is your job. You're Spiderman. Okay," he sighed, rubbing his hands together before placing two fingers beneath Danielle's neck. He waited a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. Yes! She had a pulse, she was alive.
Step two! ... Wait, what was step two? Right! Make sure she was alright before taking her to a hospital.
Suddenly, without warning, Danielle slowly began to stir. "Mm," she moaned as she turned her head slightly, her eyelids slowly beginning to open.
Peter quickly scrambled to his feet, taking a step backwards just in case she became startled by his appearance. God, what was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to act? What if she could tell that it was him under the mask? Oh, man, he had to get out of there. He had to get out of there now!
Just then, Danielle's eyes opened all the way and she turned to face the blue-and-red suited masked vigilante standing beside her. She jumped slightly at his sudden appearance, but remained calm as she asked, "Who are you?"
Too late to escape, there goes that idea, Peter thought to himself. "I, uh," Peter cut himself to clear his throat with a cough, taking on a deeper voice as he spoke once again. "I'm the Spiderman..."
Danielle narrowed her eyes to get a better look. "Right..." she replied, uneasy. "What... What happened?" She asked before breaking into a fit of coughs. Realization suddenly crossed her features. "The fire..."
"Uh, yeah, you were in the building. I had to, uh, save you-"
Danielle suddenly began to panic, her eyes darting back and forth and her hands on her sore throat as she spoke hoarsely, "I-I have to go." She began to rise to her feet. As she got up, a cough caught in her throat sending her on another fit of wheezes and coughs so bad she nearly lost her footing.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Peter quickly kept forward to catch her before she could fall. She winced from the contact, her body was undoubtedly weak from trying to get out of the fire. He had to do something, he couldn't just let her leave this way. "Uh, look, I should get you to a hospital, Dan- Miss."
Danielle, too out of it to catch his near slip up of her name, nodded. "I have to get home," she explained.
"Um, well, it kind of burned down..."
"No, no, no," Danielle said, shaking her head, still using Peter's arms to help her stand. "I live somewhere else. I'm fine..." she trailed off and sighed as she let go of Peter be walked to the edge of the roof, looking down at the street below. What was she trying to do?
"Uh, Miss, are you okay?" She didn't reply to Peter's question as she continued to look don at the ground below, her eyes scanning the area as if she were trying to see if there were people down there.
She stared for a moment before turning back towards Peter. "Can you... um..." She asked, gesturing to the ledge.
"Oh! Right," Peter finally caught on to what she was asking and walked towards her. He hesitated for a moment before slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. It felt... awkward for Peter, but she didn't seem too bothered as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Erm, hold on tight, please, ma'am," Peter instructed.
Danielle nodded and hugged Peter closely. She ducked her head into his chest the moment Peter launched the pair off the edge of the roof, his free arm reaching out to shoot his webs to latch onto another roof for leeway so they could land easily onto the sidewalk below. When their feet touched the ground, Danielle stepped back. She looked winded, but looked like she would manage.
"Huh," Peter tilted his head curiously at Danielle.
She raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing," he said, shrugging. "It's just... normally people would scream or freak out whenever I do that."
Danielle shrugged. "Guess I'm not all that normal."
Peter scoffed. "Yeah, you can definitely say that," he mumbled beneath his breath. "Um, we should get you to a hospital now."
Danielle shook her head, holding a hand out. "No. I-I can walk home. I'm fine," she insisted. Peter opened his mouth to protest, but the brunette was already walking away. "Thank you for, um, saving me?"
"No problem," Peter replied in his fake-deep voice. "Er, be safe."
Danielle attempted to smile as she waved and scurried off down the street.
As Peter watched her departing figure disappear into the shadows of the night in New York City, he began to question what had just happened. Did he seriously just save Danielle West from a burning building, swing her down to the ground, and let her leave as if nothing happened? Who was this girl and what was she hiding? How was she so calm as if getting saved from burning buildings was something she did every Saturday night?
"What the hell...?" Peter asked out loud to himself.
It was the next morning, the sun was seeping through the window of Danielle's room back at the Compound in Northern New York. She'd spent all night after the fire trying to scrub the smell of smoke out of her hair and clothes after returning to the apartment. It didn't take long after that for her to pack up her clothes and teleport herself to the Compound for her weekly visits.
She had gotten there relatively late last night and hadn't gotten to really greet anyone considering that all she wanted to do after nearly getting burnt alive in an apartment fire was sleep. And sleep is what she did, for nearly thirteen hours. By the time she woke up, it was almost noon.
Danielle rolled out of bed, trying to ignore how sore her body was as she jumped to her feet and walked her way to her restroom to brush out the tangles in her hair, brush her teeth, and put on some deodorant. After that, she walked herself back into her room to slip on her grey slippers and white cardigan to go over her sweater and sweatpants she wore to sleep. Once she was decent, she grabbed her iPod, headphones, and backpack before walking out from her room to the kitchen.
It was empty so far and Danielle didn't see a reason why she couldn't boast her music on her iPod as she made herself some cereal. While pouring the milk into a bowl she had used her powers to get down from the top shelf of the cabinets, Danielle hummed and bobbed her head to Ellie Goulding. Her headphones were on over her head and her backpack was lying open on the kitchen counter as her homework was pulled out in front of her.
She had her music on too loud to hear the entrance of the majority of her team including her brother, Wanda, Steve, Sam, and Natasha, save for Vision and Rhodey. She had been so distracted by her music, her breakfast, and her homework, when her brother tickled her side she yelped and nearly dropped her bowl of cereal.
"Jack," Wanda scolded the young man as he laughed it off in the middle of the kitchen beside his sister who glowered back at him.
"What?" Jack raised his hands in defense as he continued to laugh at Danielle. "You should've seen your face." Danielle couldn't hide the small smile she got every time she heard her brother's laugh. Wanda always used to say it was the most contagious thing in the world and no one could help but laugh with him, even if he was laughing at you. Once Jack's laughter faded away, he smiled at his little sister and wrapped an arm around her shoulders giving her a side hug and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Love you too, little sister."
Danielle chuckled as Jack ruffled her hair and walked to the fridge to grab himself the jug of milk Danielle had just put away. "What happened?" Danielle asked, gesturing to the grease on both Sam and Jack's t-shirts.
"Just adding a nice little gadget for Sam's new pack," Jack explained with a shrug as him and Wanda pulled out bowls and the boxes of cereal from the cabinet.
Danielle glanced over at Sam who looked very happy with whatever they added to his new suit. She chuckled before taking another bite of her cereal and going back to her homework while everyone around her continued to grab things from the fridge and cabinets for their late breakfast.
As Steve helped Nat prep the coffee pot, he glanced over Danielle's shoulder to see what she was working on. "What's that?"
Danielle swallowed down her cereal to answer, "School history project. I have to write an essay on President Herbert Hoover."
Steve smiled as he filled the pot up with water while Nat prepped the filter. "'A chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, to boot.'" He quoted.
"Which is ironic considering his term was during the Great Depression when no one could afford neither a chicken or a car," Danielle remarked, prompting Steve to laugh out loud. "The good old days..."
"You've been feeling a lot better now, I'm guessing," Wanda remarked as she poured the milk into both her and Jack's bowls of cereal.
Danielle used her lips and nodded. Sam then raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "You been keeping up with what I asked you to do last session?"
Thats when Danielle grimaced. She had been meaning to, but she would always get distracted. Mostly by being Eris, or school, or Peter, or Liz. "No," she admitted, receiving a disapproving look from the pilot. "But, I have been doing good in school," she explained, jumping from her spot at the counter to grab her backpack and pull out her report card. "I got all 'A's and one 'B'."
"A 'B'?" Natasha asked skeptically.
Danielle shrugged. "Science is hard," she stated simply.
Steve was looking over her grades, scanning each and every class, noticing that most of them had small comments like 'improved greatly', 'determinated', and 'lots of potential'. He felt a sense of pride swell in his chest at the fact that this young girl had faced the odds of these past few months – these past few years – and managed to get A's and B's on her report card. "Good job, Danielle," he told her with a smile and nod. "I'm proud of you."
Danielle returned the smile and nodded back. But it slowly faded when she realized that now was the time to break the news about crime-fighting as Eris. Now was as good as a time as any. "I, um, there's something I wanted to talk to you guys about-"
"Ooh," Sam suddenly interrupted her when he got a message on his phone. "Rhodey and Vis are on TV."
Natasha quickly grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV across the area in the living room. Sure enough, the news popped on to show Rhodey and Vision escorting a man in a nice tux with an American flag pin on his red tie.
"Who's that?" Wanda asked, chewing on her cereal as she watched.
"That's the new American Senator sent to Vienna on behalf of the late Senator Ryan," Natasha explained.
Senator Ryan... Why did that name sound familiar to Danielle? The answer came shortly when the headline appeared on screen, 'New U.S. Senator Henry Jacobson Pays Tribute To Assassinated Senator George Ryan Nearly Six Months After His Death'. Senator George Ryan... That's why that name sounded familiar. It was the first public person the Silencer had assassinated... Her mother assassinated.
While Danielle remained calm and silent about the news, Jack looked a bit more upset as he glared at the television screen, trying to hide his discomfort by stirring the cereal around in his bowl. Though Jack had gotten over his mother's death, the real reason he even cared who all the reminders of her was because he felt guilty. Guilty that he believed her, guilty that he allowed his sister to be hurt by her, guilty that he of all people fell for her traps, and guilty that he hadn't saved his sister or Steve sooner. He pushed all his feelings aside though,p because they didn't matter, what mattered was his little sister's well being. That was always what came first for Jack: Danielle.
Luckily, for everyone in the room, the news changed the stories around. Unfortunately for Danielle, it changed to a story on breaking news about a building fire.
"Just in this morning, an apartment building inferno lit up just outside Queens last night. Multiple injuries were reported and the building is completely burnt down, but witnesses there claimed that they were saved and rescued by an angel," the news anchor explained.
Danielle suddenly felt her face lose all color as she tried to search for a way out of this scenario. She could change the subject and divert attention from the screen, or she could to the remote and use t break the TV scream (though, that would be highly suspicious of her). Oh, what was she going to do? She couldn't hide this forever. Maybe she was just overreacting. It wasn't like they had a picture of her.
Just then, an image of Danielle's upper body sticking out of the window with the rag she had over her face helping multiple people down the fire exit appeared on screen... She spoke too soon.
She froze, like a solid statue, waiting for one of her team members to speak first, waiting for the inevitable onslaught she was about to face from everyone around her. The TV abruptly shut off, Natasha's finger still on the power button when Danielle turned her head to see who had done it. When she looked up to meet the redhead's eyes, all she saw was an amused look that said, 'oh, you're in for it now'.
Danielle winced as she slowly turned back to face her two siblings and Steve. Their faces were expressionless as they stared at the turned off TV, still trying to piece together whatever they just had seen. "Before you get mad at me," Danielle began slowly. "I was going to tell you... I just didn't know how."
There was a long pause before her brother spoke, "So, you've been... going out as Eris?"
Danielle shrugged and nodded. "Yes," she answered timidly.
"How long?" Steve asked.
"Only a few nights. I-I didn't mean to, I just... People were in danger and it was hard not to do anything," she explained. "Are you mad at me?"
Steve and Jack both exchanged looks. They seemed to be on the same page by the looks on their faces. Worried, scared, fearful? Absolutely. But mad? Not exactly. Jack was terrified of what could happen to Danielle out there crime fighting on her own – and the picture of her in that burning building didn't help – but he saw something else in that picture other than the danger she was in. He saw her helping people, saving people. Jack always knew his sister was meant for something greater in the world – he used to always think that it meant she was going to become a composer or pianist playing at places like Carnegie Hall – but now he knew that she was meant to be a hero, out in the world doing what heroes did.
Steve felt the same way. He knew what Danielle was feeling, the urge to go out and help people – it got him in trouble a few times back before the serum. He couldn't blame her for wanting to do something good in the world like he had all those years ago. But just like Jack, he worried about the dangers it posed. Danielle was still just a fourteen year old girl still dealing with grief and fear and so many more uncontrolled emotions she had been bottling up since being kidnapped for almost four years, and the idea of her letting those emotions and fears distract her and put her in danger made Steve uneasy. But he was far from angry at her.
"No," the soldier finally replied. "We're not angry at you, Danielle... We're just worried."
"I-I've been doing better with my powers," she explained, quick to defend herself. "I use them to concentrate on different things at the same time. I practice by taking small things apart and putting them back together."
"We understand that you've been practicing, but Dani..." Wanda trailed off with a sigh. "Practicing with small objects and practicing with actual enemies are two different things. You could get hurt."
Danielle frowned and bowed her head. She didn't want to stop helping people and goi out as Eris being a vigilante, but... how was she even suppose to go on now knowing that her family didn't approve of all the good she was doing?
"We're not saying you can't go out as Eris," Steve abruptly stated.
Everyone turned to look at the Captain with wide eyes and questionable glances. "We're not?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow at Steve skeptically.
"No," he confirmed, turning to face the brunette girl next to him. "You're strong, Dani, and brave, and courageous. But just because you've got heart doesn't mean you can't get hurt. And like Wanda said, practicing by yourself and going against a real enemy is different. But... We're willing to teach you."
Danielle's eyes glistened with hope as a small smile slowly creeped it's way back onto her face. "Are you saying you'll teach me how to fight again?"
Steve chuckled at the excitement in her voice and nodded, "Yes."
Danielle absolutely beamed, but had to restrain herself from jumping up and down in excitement. Instead she asked, "Can I start now?"
"Sure," Jack answered for the soldier. "You and me, one on one in the training room?" Danielle grinned mischievously and nodded. "Let's go," Jack said, walking around the kitchen counter and leading Danielle out of the room to the training area laughing and talking with her all the way there.
While the siblings departed, Wanda stayed behind and watched them leave. The enhanced young girl could feel herself begin to panic at the mere thought of Danielle ever being out into danger again after who happened with HYDRA and then her mother. If anyone knew how much that girl had been hurt over the years it had been the one person who was with her every step of the way – Wanda.
Steve, Sam, and Natasha noticed the distraught look on Maximoff's face and exchanged knowing looks. Natasha and Sam looking pointedly at Steve then looking back at Wanda. He pursed his lips, getting the hint, and walked over to her. "You're worried," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Aren't you?" She relied, not bothering to look at him, her eyes still glued to where Danielle and Jack were standing moments ago.
"Beyond belief."
"I just don't want to see her hurt again..." Wanda explained, wrapping her arms around herself in a small hug. "After all these years, I've watched her go through so much. And not just with Alice, or you, or Ultron, or Sokovia. Back with Strucker... Back with HYDRA when she would be experimented to the point where she was no longer a human to them, rather just a lab rat... I don't want that to happen to her. I don't want her to get hurt, or kidnapped, or have her going out there creating enemies," Wanda stated.
"Wanda," Sam spoke up. "She's strong. She may be young and a bit clumsy, but that's why we're here. We're gonna help her so she can protect herself."
"Not that she already can't," Natasha added. "But a little training won't hurt." Wanda turned and gave them all a grateful smile.
"So, how about we all stop worrying about the girl who held up an entire city-sized meteor with just her powers and go watch Jack get his ass kicked," Sam quipped, easing the tension in the room prompting the group of heroes to all chuckle.
"What makes you think Jack's gonna be the one to lose?" Natasha asked curiously as the group started their way to the training room.
Sam scoffed and shook his head. "Danielle can literally teleport and move things with her mind, Jack can make sparks appear from his fingers. My bets are all on Eris here."
"You're on," Natasha retorted.
"Seriously? You're going for Statix?"
Natasha shrugged. "He may be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I have faith because he has more experience."
Wanda and Steve walked behind the arguing pair, silently listening to the back and forth banter with amusement that distracted them from the fact that Danielle was going to be putting herself in the line of fire. Sure, she could have been going through worse like going on covert missions with the team, but danger was still danger, whether it be in petty theives or homicidal robot armies. But, like Natasha had said, a little training wouldn't hurt her.
A/N: Oof, sorry for the late chapter. I just got back from a roadtrip for Thanksgiving and then got sick with strep on the way back so I had to go to the doctor. Thankfully, it's wearing off now and all I have is some congestion and sinus pressure. But, aside from my pain and procrastination, this chapter was a bit wary at the end. We shall go in depth for this training and I was gonna try and have Wanda explain more into depth the life that Dani and the, had back in Sokovia with HYDRA because it's going to come back later on, but I figured that I could just tell it through flashbacks when the time comes. Also, MORE SPIDER-MAN AND DANIELLE INTERACTIONS TO COME NEXT CHAPTER. Not to mention, Civil War starts in a few chaps and I am happy to say there shall be more Danielle and Peter relationship/friendship interactions as Er go through that plot and after that plot, but also no real real romance until maybe Homecoming and after Homecoming for sure. Sorry this is such a slow burn. I'm a piece of shit, I know.
Chapter Song: [Ive notice I've been unintentionally making these chapter titles Hamilton themed, maybe I should put a song as a Chapter Song today, but I'm not sure what would fit. I feel like Nonstop would kind of sum up Peter in Homecoming sort of...] But anyway, the chapter song is Pretty Face by PUBLIC. I've recently rediscovered this band. I've been listening to them for a few years now (they are so underrated, go check out their songs), but recently a song of theirs popped up on my playlist again and I just re-binged all their songs again and fell back in love.
Reviews:
Waterfall-Orchid: Aw, thanks, took me forever glad you liked it! And here s your latest fix. (of writing, not drugs. Don't do those, they're bad!)
CryingRosex3: Holy shit... I'm sorry I didn't get your permission to write your sci-fi biography my dude. I hope I do your character justice, lol. But seriously, what a crazy coincidence. Do you also have a brother six years older than you named Jack? Lol. If you did it would be just straight up scary.
Incorrect Quote of the Chapter:
Danielle: So, what's the news, Jack?
Jack: Guess he got a little too lit.
Danielle: Peter caught on fire!
Jack: Yeah, and now he's dead. Okay? Appreciate a joke!
[Imma stick with the theme of fire-related vines]
Ned: *runs in* Yo, man, you gotta get out the house. There's a fire!
Peter: Ok.
Ned: Ok. *starts walking out*
Peter: Hey, real quick!
Ned: *runs back in* What? What?
Peter: Can you shut my door? I don't know why you left it open.
Ned: ...
