"News of Stark Industries breakthrough in regards to detecting Galactic and Tesseract energy sources before they arrive on Earth has shaken the global community, shining a spotlight back on the embattled Avengers, who appear to be in tatters after the events of Captain Steve Rogers' mutiny regarding Captain James Barnes, once framed for the murder of Wakandan King T'Chaka."
Yeah, leading to that guy in that black Vibranium suit at the airport fight.
Add that to the "I don't know list". That guy got hit with multiple bullets that would have turned me into Swiss cheese. Instead they bounced off like they did off Cap's shield.
Focus on something else Peter.
I shake my head, glance at the rag that I'm using to clean the grates in the living room with then hop off the wall and onto my feet.
Needs more cleaning solution. And I'm thirsty.
Grabbing the solution first, I pop off the lid and stop the bottle with my rag before snatching up my water and draining two thirds of it.
I wonder how Ned's coming on adapting Karen's interface into like an earpiece or something. I just need a more portable way to tap into it. I could use it for all sorts of stray ideas and thoughts that I've been having. I know they're good and useful, but my brain is just way too full right now.
What I wouldn't give for a night of normal senses, normal thoughts. It's starting to drive me crazy.
The sound of something glass breaking floats to my over-tuned ears thru the floors or walls before I hear Ms. Circles snaps "Dammit Ashley, you broke another glass?!"
"I was taking it out and it was still slippery!" She defends herself.
"It's still broken!"
"Sorry Mom! It was an accident!"
I sigh to myself, screw the lid back onto the bottle before shaking my head and mutter to myself. "Or you could be grateful Peter and learn to focus."
Instagram flagged a story by Liz as worthy of a notification, saying "Liz Toomes posted for the first time in while! See what their video says!"
So naturally, I watched it. Liz had a picnic, taking advantage of the first decent weather she's really seen in Eugene. For somebody who loves sunlight, she must hate it there. The Pacific Northwest is nothing but 40's and cloudy. Not partially cloudy, just straight clouds six or seven days of the week in the fall and winter.
It's not even winter yet.
I'm surprised she didn't block me on there yet. It's probably that I never post, just look at stuff people post. My life's too boring to really post online. Nobody would look at it.
Spider-Man on the other hand, there's parody accounts. Stupid parody accounts, like the 'Emo Kylo Ren' account that started up after that new Star Wars movie that came out. I'm not constantly talking about webs or walking on walls for fun. I only do it when I have to.
Or, when I have to clean the house as part of keeping May sane.
Two footsteps, lose enough that it's obviously May sound out before they stop abruptly. "Oh that's going to take a lot of getting used to."
I lean back from the grate and turn to May, who is upside down.
Huh? Oh.
"My bad." I apologize before flipping off the wall and onto my feet. "It's getting clean, taking a little longer that I was hoping. I'll get the fans next."
May blinks twice before nodding. "Okay. You don't have to tonight. That'll be enough, the grates."
"But you said the whole kitchen, the dishes, the grates and the fans." I ask.
"I know, and the kitchen looks great. Just finish the grates. And one question."
I nod, getting back on the wall so I can get back to work. "Yeah?"
"None of this is weird? You're climbing on walls. I had to drop the blinds so the neighbors can't look in. You just back flipped off the wall and landed it like it was nothing."
I shrug before starting to clean again. "All of it's weird. Nothing makes sense. But I'm just trying to focus and make the best of it. Nobody answers my questions anyway. Haven't so far at least."
"So what can you do? Since those wrist gauntlets are exterior, you can just walk on the walls like a spider, hence the name?" May asks, sounding curious.
"I don't know totally. It's kind of like my senses are dialed to eleven. Eyes, ears, everything. I'm stronger, faster, all of it. And it isn't stopping, so I don't know." I admit, scrubbing harder at the grate.
Darn thing won't get clean.
"Give me an example."
I point downward. "Ashley just broke a glass right below us. Her Mom yelled at her. I heard everything."
"Ashley, the girl two doors down?" May asks.
"Yup. And I don't really care to hear that right now, so I need to focus. It's not my business." I confirm, continuing to scrub.
"Peter, that's enough. Whatever is still on there must be rust or something. It's clean." May tells me, and I turn back.
"You sure? I think I can get it."
May pointed down at what must be her orientation. "Down. OH! That reminds me!"
"Of?" I ask, flipping off the wall again.
"Showoff." She grumbles while digging in the stack of mail she picked up today. You got something from Stark Industries. Seems that you can't get a call but you can get a bill."
"A bill? I'm broke! I—"
I get paid a little for the "Internship", but not a lot. Enough to get a bite to eat after school and some small tech upgrades.
May flicks her eyes at me before handing me the letter and a butter knife to open it. The letter complies easily, ripping open and I turn it upside down for a long, thin rectangular piece of paper to fall out with a small note attached.
"Figured you could maybe use this. Sorry it's late. My fault. Bumped it a little because of the ferry/ plane incidents. Don't get used to it. You earned it though. Call if you need anything. –TS"
Okay.
"Fifteen hundred bucks! For forty eight hours of work?! Now that's an Internship!" May exclaims, then shows me the check.
The air comes right out of my lungs. "How…much?"
$1587.27. That's $33 per hour of being Spider-Man. It's not even work, I love it.
"What am I going to even do with all this May?" I ask, then notice that she's reading the note. A scowl slowly forms on her face before she looks at me.
"You usually don't get this much?" She asks.
"No, usually it's a lot less. And every two weeks."
It took almost a month this time.
May sighs and tosses the opened envelope in the direction of the garbage. "Even his well-intentioned moves look like crap."
Yup. Yuck, my face.
I quickly wipe my face with my shirt, leaving it covered in sweat and dust from the ceiling.
Gross. Didn't think about that part. Maybe those grates were dirtier than I thought.
"Uhh…" May says blankly, eyes wide.
"Yeah?" I ask, wiping my hands off on the shirt.
Might make this a shirt I can't wear outside.
"When'd…that happen?" She asks awkwardly, twirling her hands in a circle.
"When'd what happen?"
I don't get it.
May's eyes bulge. "You've got a six-pack! You're shredded! You don't work out! Is that part of this?! Am I going to have to worry about you bringing girls over now too?!"
Did she just say shredded?
I feel myself start blushing before I glance at the floor. "Yeah, that too. It's like puberty on steroids."
"That's not puberty. I need a drink or something…" She mutters before walking to the kitchen.
Damage Control has rumored to have taken control of over three trillion worth of tech from the Chitauri attack alone. Not to mention Sokovia, that D.C attack, the UN bombing, the Scarlet Witch bombing…
Maybe Liz's dad was kind of right. Man, I have to stop thinking about this. All this was so much easier before May cooped me up and started letting me overthink everything.
I slump over the balcony railing and try to smile at the cool fall wind hitting me.
It kind of feels good. But I'm disgusting and sweaty right now, so…
"I know that look. What's on your mind? You mad at me?" May asks behind me.
"No…not really. I get it. It's something else. You can't really help."
None of this makes sense.
May slides to my right and leans over the railing to look at me. "Maybe I can. Try me."
"I…" I start, then sigh and close my eyes. "Does anything ever actually like, make sense? Because I'm being hit with stuff so fast and it doesn't make sense to me."
"Like?" She asks me, prompting me to slump further and close my eyes. "C'mon. Tell me. Is it related to your…thing?"
I nod silently.
I hate that she won't even say it. She hates it that much.
"I won't tell anybody. What is it?"
If I can't trust May, then who can I trust? And maybe it'll get her a little more on my side. Maybe.
"The guy…the one everyone's calling 'The Vulture'. I had him in this warehouse." I start, then pause for her to freak out.
"Okay…" May nods, actually listening while swishing her wine around.
"He said some stuff. About Stark and the whole Damage Control thing. And it kind of makes sense."
May garbs my shoulder firmly. "No it doesn't. he wanted to steal stuff from that plane, like you said. You cannot trust the source Peter. Don't let him in your head. He's in prison now, don't let him live in your head. He was trying to fuck with your head."
"That's the problem!" I push off the railing and start pacing. "Damage Control has made billions of dollars for Stark's company just because of the attack here!" I point off to where Downtown is gleaming like a crown jewel. "He has a point!"
"And what does that mean for you? That you shouldn't help people! Hell no!" May shakes her head. "He was trying to break you, get in your head. Do not let him in Peter Parker. You understand me?"
What's that sound?
I stop myself from pacing and strain to listen to the night before I involuntarily shiver. Immediately afterward, the sound of police sirens and a firehouse's bells going off reach my ears.
"Peter."
Uh oh.
Reflexively, I look out off the porch and try to spot the smoke or the glow of a fire.
"Peter? Hello?"
I can't do anything. May has my stuff.
I drop my head, then force a smile onto my face. "Yeah? Sorry, thought I heard fire trucks." I apologize.
May just looks at me, expression unreadable before she just walks away.
Uh oh. I made her mad again.
I sigh and slump back over the railing before I hear May again. "Here."
"Here what?"
"Here. Take it." May says, causing me to turn and—
My mask. And web shooters.
"Go help. And Karen better text me and say you're coming home soon." May says, a ghost of a smile on her face.
I…What? Really?
I quickly snatch all three away from her, slip past her, run straight for my room and start throwing my suit on.
"Karen, find out exactly where those siren are coming from. We're on the move." I say, slipping my web shooters on as the HUD flashes in front of my eyes.
"Sure thing Peter. Are you not in trouble anymore?"
"Kind of. Not asking questions." I say before rushing out of my room and right back to the balcony where May's looking back to my room. "Thanks May! Be right back!" I yell before taking two big steps, planting on the railing and throwing myself off into the night before firing off a web.
"The sirens are coming from two streets down. It looks like from the police scanners that there's a fire in an apartment building." Karen informs me.
"Where's the building?" I ask, glancing up and heading in the general direction of the fire.
"212th and Hillside."
Ugh, that far away?
I groan and try to pick up the pace while trying to find a train.
That'd make this faster. Nope, not running right now even though service ends in two hours. Perfect.
"What else are they saying about the fire?"
"It seems kind of small, just one floor. Fire and Police already on the scene but having trouble accessing one particular unit."
"Sounds like a problem for Spider-Man!" I smile to myself, landing a water storage tank with a web and catapulting myself high enough to get a good visual. "What kind of anti-fire stuff did Stark build into this Karen?"
"Water Webs and fire repellant fabric." Karen replies simply.
"That's it?!"
"That's more than those firefighters have."
"THEY'RE FIREFIGHTERS KAREN!"
This should be fun! Two blocks out!
"They have axes and specialized equipment. I guess you're right Peter. But you have me!"
"Yeah, and that'll be a big help as I'm cooking in there."
"Am I detecting sarcasm in your voice?" She asks me.
"Detect? You're learning?" I ask, heart rate spiking for sure.
"I was built to adapt so that I can better assist your peter. Why is your heart rate rising rapidly?"
"Has Stark never seen Terminator?" I ask rhetorically. "The robot always wants to kill humans!"
"I don't want to kill you Peter. I like you. It's against my programming."
Well that's reassuring.
"We're here!" I smile, landing on the roof across the street.
Doesn't look too bad.
"Karen, scan for life."
"Scanning." She responds as the façade is bathed in emergency lights and barricades are being erected on both sides of the road. "Got one person and a dog. Same unit they cannot access. Hurry."
"On it! Highlight 'em!" I ask, just before Karen points them out.
Wrong side! Damn!
I quickly adjust, firing out a secondary web, swinging out for the correct angle and crash thru the window, directly into the burning building, then stop drop and roll. "HELLO?!"
A scream rings out off to my left, along with the sound of firefighters beating on something. "I'm here to help!" I call out, then leap around a fallen beam and hustle down a hallway and into an open door, just for a boy to scream out, holding a dog.
"Hey! Hey. It's okay. I'm going to get you out." I crouch down as the flames slowly crawl further into the room, just past the door as opposed to the boy, who is in the furthest corner.
"You're…you're Spider-Man. You're real." He perks up, almost smiling.
"I'm real! Now c'mon. Let's get you guys out." I smile, then move to scoop them up.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?" A male voice asks behind me, and I whip around to see firefighters rushing into the room.
"Peter, this place is about to collapse. Get them out of there. I'm detecting structural failure being imminent."
"Water webs!" I tell her, then fire them past the firefighters to the door and halt the fire at the door. "I'm getting them out! You've gotta go, this place is gonna go!"
"Not until I get an explanation!"
"Rog! He's right! That's the spider thing! Questions later!"
"I've got them!" I snap, then move to scoop them up again.
BEAM!
Out of nowhere, a wooden beam supporting the ceiling falls thru, and I reflexively stop it with my left hand before scooping up the boy and his dog in my right. "Get out!" I yell at the firefighters before I fire off a web out the window and throw us out of the burning building.
"AHHH!" The boy yells, causing his dog to bark before I land in the street in a three point stance.
Whew.
"Okay guys, this is your stop. Are you okay?" I ask, feeling both the boy and dog shake as I set them down gently.
"Ye—yeah. I guess." He stammers out.
"Good job Peter." Karen compliments me.
"What in the hell…freeze!" I hear a voice that sounds like a cop say.
I smile behind the mask. "And that's my cue to leave!"
"No, you're not doing any—HEY!"
"Bye!" I call out, already across the street and firing off my next web.
I should take the long way home, looping around in case anyone tries following me.
For the next minute, I purposely head in the wrong direction before ducking into the shadows and changing direction.
"Karen, text May. Tell her I'm okay and that I'm coming home."
"Sure thing Peter."