Chapter 32
Parker Residence, New York...
Peter Parker drags himself out of bed...well drag may be an exaggeration. Sure he was up late webslinging and being all round magnificent...not that ol' picklepuss would ever give Peter any gratitude. Right now he can already read Jonah's editorial without having ever seen the thing. The word menace will be in it at least 7 times in relation to Spider-Man.
Oh yeah and after last weekend, when he was out helping the X-Men save the day, Jonah wrote that basically Spider-Man set that up to make himself look better by using and abusing 'poor, helpless mutants'.
Right the large guy with the Mohawk who can throw cars around was helpless. Sure JJ.
Peter scuffs his feet along the worn carpet towards the bathroom. In all truth last night wasn't so bad really. Whoever set up the 3 crime lords still hadn't made his move so all in all it was rather peaceful. The calm before the storm Captain Stacy was saying. He's probably right.
One quick morning clean-up and dressing and Peter looks at himself in the mirror.
Really cool spider-powers and he still looks like a loser. Gets treated like one too. Checks his watch. 90 minutes until his morning hassle and bullying courtesy of Flash Thomson. Maybe he'll get stuffed into his locker again today. Oh Goody! He can't wait!
Note the sarcasm please.
"Peter!" Aunt's May voice yells for him from downstairs. "Phone call!"
"Phone call?" Peter questions. Who would be calling him. Most of his friends still aren't talking to him.
Peter makes his way downstairs to the lounge and takes the phone from his aunt. "Parker's Taxidermist Services. You shoot 'em. We stuff 'em."
"Peter," May chastises him lightly albeit with a smile and a resigned shake of the head at his sense of humour.
"Peter? That you?" is the nervous sounding voice.
"Who is this?"
"Um...it's...Kitty. You know like Kitty Pryde."
At the Institute...
"Smooth," Rogue mocks with a smirk as she stands on Kitty's right.
"Really good there Kitty. That's telling him," Jean says from Kitty's left with her own smirk and giving her a jokey 2 thumbs up.
Kitty places her hand over the speaker. "Shut up!" she tells her smirking friends off. She is nervous ok! And they're suppose to be here to support her. Some friends.
Parker Residence...
"Oh! Um...Hi," Peter says in a suddenly squeaky voice and finds his aunt looking with more than a little interest at him. Peter makes good his escape into the hallway.
"Hi," Kitty says back in a high-pitched tone and Peter can hear muffled voices in the background. "So...um sorry I took so long to phone," she apologises. "We had some stuff to deal with."
"Like?"
"Oh holograms brought to life, mutated walking trees courtesy of the magical missteps of our Scarlet Witch. She's...uh away now. Staying with some like mystical doctor to learn to totally control her powers...and you know I thought Friday would be like best since...you know weekend. Able to stay out later and all that."
"Uh huh?"
"So um about that thing. You know you and I going out. How about after school? I could get you know who to run me over. What do you say?"
Peter rubs the back of his neck. Wow he had actually almost forgotten. Face palm! God he's a total tool. "Right after school or...?"
"Sure why not. Clark can cover the distance in what 5 minutes?"
"3 actually."
"I really need to pay more attention to him in training," Kitty mutters in complaint at herself.
"What?"
"Sorry. It's a teamwork thing. Knowing what your teammates are capable of."
"Oh. I really tend to work solo most of the time."
"Isn't that lonely?"
"I'm a lone wolf type of person."
"Oh my gosh! Logan and you would so hit it off!"
"I'm pretty certain he promised to gut me on the jet last weekend."
"Pft. He says that about everyone. He threatened to totally do that to Rogue yesterday and they're family!"
At the Institute...
Next to Kitty Rogue's face sours and she mutters some unpleasantries about Logan because he totally did say that. Some father huh? And people wonder why she never calls him dad. She's so having Beast redo that paternity test.
Kitty elbows Rogue in the ribs and gives her a dirty look for talking when she is on the phone.
Parker Residence...
"So back to meeting up. After school?" Peter asks Kitty to confirm that is what she wants.
"Yes...uh what school and where?"
"Midtown High, Queens."
"Okay. I'll see you there!"
"Kitty," Peter stops her hanging up.
"Yeah."
"Thanks for doing this," Peter says in a soft tone. He's tried of being alone in truth. "It's...you're pretty cool."
"Like no probs! See you tonight!" she says bursting into her perpetual cheerful tones.
Peter smiles as the phone call ends. Then there is the sound of someone clearing their throat. Peter turns to see his aunt.
"So Peter. Care to tell me who that girl is?" she asks.
Another face palm! His aunt has that meddling look in her eyes. Someone please just shoot him.
At the Institute...
"Oh my god. I have a date," Kitty says in shock. "I have an actual date!" she screams.
Jean and Rogue wince at the sound.
"Didn't I say you would find someone better than Lance," Jean reminds Kitty of one of many things she said to try and cheer Kitty up after she and Lance imploded.
"Ta beh fair Jean that's not hard," Rogue says, criticising Lance.
Jean has to nod a concession. That was true.
"I have a date with Spider-Man!" Kitty yells still in total stunned shock.
"Oh brothah," Rogue mutters knowing she will be hearing about this all day.
Midtown High, Queens...
As another school day ends Peter exits the building and his eyes start to automatically look for her. He walks down the steps when he spots her in a pink t-shirt with a white star emblazoned across the front and these mauve pants still holding her school bag. She waves at him. He waves back.
"Hi!" Kitty greets Peter as he comes up to her, taking a moment to appreciate how his unkempt hair falls over his face making him look adorably cute.
"You're here...already," Peter says in some surprise.
"You know who moves fast when he's motivated," Kitty explains and Kitty's good at motivating. Basically she just nagged Clark all day about dropping her off until he couldn't wait to be rid of her.
"Wow. You look...nice." 'Oh dear god was that lame,' Peter mentally cringes.
Kitty blushes slightly. "So this is your school...and are they giving that guy a wedgie?"
Peter looks over to see Flash Thomson and company giving a kid with glasses a wedgie. "Welcome to my life," he says morosely.
Kitty looks at his sad features and has to fight down the urge to take him into her arms and cuddle him. "So...uh is there a plan for this evening?"
"I have no plan. Do you?"
"Nope." Kitty looks around. "What do these 'other' people do after school?" she asks him.
A smile starts to come to Peter's face as an idea strikes him. He starts to lead Kitty off, not noticing they have been seen.
"Is that Peter leaving with a girl?" Liz Allen asks her best friend Mary Jane Watson.
"What? Where?" MJ asks as she tries to spot Peter. Liz points and MJ spots them. "Do we know her?" she asks, her nose wrinkling a little as she tries to place the person.
"I don't believe so," Liz replies, unable to place any name to the girl.
"What's the hubbub ladies?" Harry Osborn asks as he walks, hand in hand with Gwen, up to them.
"Peter. Strange girl. Curiosity needs to know," Liz explains.
"Peter's doing what now?" Gwen asks, trying to spot her ex-boyfriend.
Harry spots Peter and said strange girl. "Oh yeah. Wow she's cute!" he remarks.
Gwen fixes him a look.
Harry spots it. "But not as cute as you," he quickly tries to cover himself.
"Real smooth Harry," MJ remarks in a light criticism.
"Who is she?" Gwen asks, clearly not happy at not knowing. How can she not know Peter was seeing someone? Her and Peter have been best friends forever...except lately not so much. "Come on Harry," she says, pulling Harry along.
"Uh Gwen, babe, where are we going?" Harry asks, trying not to look like a total goose at being dragged along by a petite blond.
"Wherever they're going," Gwen says with determination.
"But...but..." Harry tries to protest.
"No buts!" Gwen cuts him.
Harry hates this. It is not healthy the way Gwen keeps nosing into Peter's business. They broke up. She's his girl now. This drives him crazy!
MJ and Liz share a look. They don't need to say it. They're going wherever Peter's going to.
The Midtown Mall...
One thing Peter can say is that people ain't all that original when it comes to names. The Midtown Mall...Midtown High...New York in the state of New York. It's a thing that if he was alone he would spend a good hour debating over in his head but as he's in company his mind is more on the here and now and taking delight in the way Kitty's face has lit up.
"Corn dog on a stick!" Kitty exclaims in excitement at the food in her hand as she and Peter sit at a table at this mall cafe.
"Veggie variety," Peter points out because, yes, he noticed Kitty does not eat meat. " A modern achievement," he jokily lavishes praises on the 'delicacy'.
"When the mutants take control of the earth, the man who invented the corn dog shall be spared," Kitty lays down the proclamation.
Peter's eyebrows rise because she sounds quite serious about that.
"I'm like kidding!" Kitty laughs. "Totally kidding."
"You sure about that? Clark does make some mention of you being evil."
"I'm killing him," Kitty promises in relation to Clark. "But yeah I'm totally kidding. I promise. We're the good mutants. Fighting for peace and everything like that."
"In that case you may want to avoid statements like that in public places," Peter advises her.
"Ugh. My comedy like sucks," Kitty complains, with a face palm, if Peter of all people couldn't see she was joking. She bites into her corn dog. It's really not bad considering it's mall food.
Peter picks up a French fry and bites it in half. "So this...thing we're having. I've gotta to ask why. It's not because of what happened when we were...you know intoxicated or anything right?"
"No," Kitty assures him quickly. "It's...uh...look I don't like know if this will lead to anything but what I do know is that 95% of my 'human' friends don't talk to me now since I came out as a mutant or they spend their days like totally insulting me," she says depressingly.
"Well those guys are obviously morons," Peter rushes to her defence.
Kitty smiles at his defence of her. What a sweet guy. She continues, "And you know most of my free time is spent training or saving the world or almost getting killed."
Peter nods in understanding. "Yep. I totally get that...apart from the training thing. I'm just...you know not living at a mansion with super cool tools to train with."
"You could," Kitty says with deep passion in her voice.
"Huh?"
"Could...come over every once in a while and train," Kitty quickly covers herself. She was so not saying Peter should come live at the mansion where they could hang out all the time and make out and stuff. She so wasn't saying that.
Peter scratches his head. He supposes he could if he wanted to.
Kitty returns to Peter's original question. "It's just...I actually want a friend outside my world you know...and with my lack of spare time and being a mutant it isn't easy...and you're like the closest thing." Of course if Peter was open to them being more than friends Kitty would not say no but she decided not to be pushy about it. No really. She isn't going to be pushy at all.
"I'm flattered I think."
"And there's all that other stuff about you being smart and funny and so on and so on but that seems way too clichéd to have to be said," Kitty smarts off with a grin.
"Sometimes it is still nice to hear it," Peter says with a smile.
Kitty smiles back at him.
Suddenly a tall blond guy bumps into Peter. "Sorry sweety," he snidely apologises.
"Somehow I doubt that Flash," Peter mutters at Flash Thomson who had obviously finished beating up that other kid.
"What was that puny Parker?" Flash asks him in aggressive tones, looking at Peter as if he is a literal bug to be stepped on.
Peter sighs. He thinks about rolling off an insult or 5 but that would just get him have to pretend to get beaten up again and he doesn't want to waste any time on that when he's here with Kitty. "Nothing Flash," he says.
Flash's eyes narrow before turning to Peter's companion. His lips curl up in to a smug, mocking grin. "When you want to hang out with a real man I'll be right over there," Flash says, pointing at where his friends are.
Kitty glares daggers at the blond boy as he walks off. "I'm with a real man jerkwad," she mutters. She turns to Peter. "You could like totally wipe the floor with that tool," she points out.
"I could," Peter admits as he dips his fry in the tub of ketchup. "But I can't," he says. "If I did...it would be 2 seconds of bliss followed by 10 years of hell," he gives his reasons why he doesn't.
Kitty looks at Peter and something occurs to her. "So no-one close to you knows what you can do, do they?"
Peter shakes his head as he chews on his fry. "Nope."
"And you have no-one to share it with?" she asks, saddened at that thought.
"Not really...Clark a little," Peter supposes. "It's better this way."
"How so?"
"People close to me already get hurt when no-one knows who I am. If I tell them it would be worse."
"It may not."
"It would be. Trust me on that. My aunt...she practically raised me. Her life was already put in danger once because of me. What kind of evil scum would I be if I put her further into danger. Then there's everyone else around me. People already hate Spider-Man. That spider on my chest might as well be a big target. Anyone seen close to me is at risk. My ex...nah forget it. You don't want to hear this."
"What?"
"Nothing and it doesn't matter. That voice in your head that tells you when you're whining and nobody cares. I have that right now."
"I swear I care," Kitty tells him earnestly as she leans forward and places her hand atop of his. "Tell all the voices in your head that I like am totally interested in what you were going to say."
The sincere caring look on Kitty's face makes Peter melt and he confides in her. "My ex-girlfriend...one of my enemies kidnapped her. She still gets flashbacks occasionally and she completely blames Spider-Man. If she knew who I was I would lose whatever chance I have of remaining her friend. It's better if that is all people are to me."
"Wow," Kitty says for lack of anything else to say.
"What about you? You mentioned a little about that Lance guy."
Kitty picks up her soda carton and sucks some up through the straw. "Lance was...well he was cute and I thought that under his rough exterior there was a nice guy. Turns out I'm totally stupid."
"You're not stupid Kitty," Peter assures her.
Kitty shrugs a little. "Well I'm certainly not a good judge of character. When given the choice between me and Magneto he chose the guy trying to take over the world," she says and you can hear a tiny slither of bitterness in her voice that still remains over Lance.
"I did say he was a moron or words to that effect," Peter points out.
"That you did. At least I won't have to see him any more," Kitty chooses to say as a positive. "The Brotherhood...they're gone...at least until Magneto's next attempt to take over the world."
"Well you're better off than me. I have to see my ex dating my best friend."
"Wow. Total suckage," Kitty comments.
"Tell me about it."
"Uh...isn't there a rule about not dating your best friend's ex?" Kitty inquires.
"If there is Harry obviously skipped over that page." Peter sighs. "I'm not begrudging anyone happiness. I'm not. It just...I would rather not have to see it every day."
Kitty nods in sympathy.
Suddenly a pepper pot drops down onto the table between them after being thrown at them. Kitty and Peter turn their heads to see it came from Flash's direction.
Kitty makes a face as Flash chortles at his actions. "Ugh. Can we go somewhere they can't?" she asks.
"Yes," Peter says.
As Peter and Kitty get up to leave they are being watched by 4 pairs of eyes belonging to Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson and Liz Allen.
"Who is she?" Gwen asks.
"I don't know," MJ replies. "But he has to know her quite well."
"How do you know that?" Harry wonders.
"The way they were talking. Too serious for a casual acquaintance," MJ explains.
"MJ. I think you're obsessing a little bit," Liz lightly criticises.
"I'm not obsessing," MJ defends herself. "But I recognise her from somewhere," she says, her face askew with thought as she tries to recall how she knows that girl.
"I agree with Liz," Harry says. "You're obsessing over nothing. He obviously met a nice girl somewhere and they hit it off," is his assumption.
"Then why have we never heard of her?" Gwen asks.
"Because the two of you have barely spoken to him in months," Harry reminds them.
"What about you?" MJ asks. "Did he tell you?"
"Well...no."
"Ha! See!" MJ claims triumphantly. If Peter didn't say anything to Harry then there is definitely something going on in her opinion. "Come on," she says as starts to head in the same direction Peter and the mysterious girl are.
Gwen leaves with MJ leaving behind a totally befuddled Harry and Liz.
"That's your friend," Harry comments about MJ.
"That's your girlfriend," Liz hits back with about Gwen.
"Touché," Harry concedes.
MJ and Gwen spot Peter and the girl heading into one of the back areas. They push through the doors only to find no sign of them.
"Where did they go?" Gwen asks, clearly confused about how they could just vanish that quickly.
A puzzled expression comes to MJ's brow because she doesn't know how they pulled that trick off either but one thing that she is certain about is that she is finding out who that girl is.
Sometimes superpowers are cool. It allows you to get up to places normal people can't. In the case of Peter and Kitty that's the mall roof.
"You ok with this?" Peter asks as he helps Kitty up through the hatch onto the flat roof.
"Oh yeah. This is cool," Kitty says as she starts to catch a glimpse of the view.
"I meant with the wind," Peter clarifies, worried she may get cold.
"It phases right through me," Kitty points out.
The two walk over to the edge and the mall offered a surprisingly great view of New York. Kitty takes a few minutes to appreciate the view.
Peter points at a building in the distance. "See that? That was where I defeated the greatest villain known to man; Stilt-man." (Note: where the word greatest is written please replace with lamest.)
"My hero!" Kitty proclaims in a mock enthusiastic cheer.
"Well one must do his duty," Peter says in heroic sounding tones.
Kitty smiles at him before raising the subject they were talking on before they were rudely interrupted. "So can you not like date anyone? Is that the point you were trying to make earlier?"
Peter turns his gaze out to the city and tries not to look her in the eye. "I-I don't think I can. I can't protect the person from..."
Kitty cuts him off. "But what if...they had, I don't know, like mutant powers and could take care of themselves?" she asks him.
"Well..." Peter starts to say only to notice the horrified look in Kitty's eye.
"I can't believe I just said that," she laments to herself. Peter's obviously sensitive on the whole area and she just basically blurted out 'Hello! I want to be your girlfriend!'. Kitty turns and starts to phase herself down through the roof before she embarrasses herself further. Although short of actually throwing herself at him she probably can't.
"What are you...?" Peter starts to ask.
"Never mind!" Kitty shouts at him as she vanishes.
"What? What?" Peter asks, totally confused about what just happened.
"Idiot!" Kitty shouts at herself as she virtually glides down to the floor below. Maintenance floor essentially. She places her hands over her face. "You've fought Magneto and giant robots Katherine. What is your damage?" she asks herself. She looks up. She can't leave him there alone and she needs to explain so she phases into a wall and uses that to glide back up...like she is walking through it, only upward.
On the roof Peter wonders what he should do. "Should I leave?" he asks nobody.
"Don't leave," Kitty says as her head pops back up through the roof.
"Are you ok?" Peter asks, worried for her.
"I'm a total spaz," Kitty berates herself as she comes to sit on the roof.
Peter steps forward and offers her his hand which she takes as he helps her up. "What was that about?"
"That..." Kitty drops her eyes unable to meet his. "That was insanely forward of me," she basically apologises.
"What?" Peter asks, still lost.
"That thing about having a girlfriend with powers. That was way..."
"Uh I actually thought it was a good point," Peter confesses, cutting her off. He's use to hanging around normal people, dating normal, non-superpowered people, so Kitty's point has never occurred to him before. That might actually solve the dilemma he has. He doesn't want anyone close to him hurt but he doesn't want to end up alone either. "I wasn't freaked out," he assures her in case she thought he was.
"I was," Kitty confesses.
"Clearly," Peter says in good humour.
"I'm like a complete spaz," Kitty says, still not able to meet his eyes.
"No. I'm a spaz. You're quirky," Peter says back.
"And quirky is French for?" Kitty asks, wondering what Peter means.
"Cute."
Kitty's eyes turn to look at him and gaze into his brown eyes which are looking at her with tender affection. "Cute is good," she says with a small smile.
"Yeah cute is good," Peter says, lost in her blue eyes that are filled with this hope for something. His face slowly moves towards hers. Kitty's eyes flutter closed, her chin lifts in preparation for...
BOOM!
They stop, their lips inches apart and snap their heads in the same direction. An explosion a couple of blocks away at most. Dust kicks up into the air.
"Whoa," Kitty remarks.
Peter sighs. Always. The Parker luck never lets him down. He immediately starts to lift the shirt he has on, off and underneath the blue and red webbed pattern costume becomes visible. "I gotta go check that out. Will you wait...?"
Peter never gets to finish his question. "I'll come," Kitty tells him.
"No," Peter starts to say first off as his pants get discarded. "I can do this..."
Again Kitty never lets him finish. "Dude. I'm like a superhero, too. Let me swing there with you."
Peter pulls his mask onto his head but not quite over his face yet. "But you might..."
"What?"
"I don't want you to get hurt," Peter says, which was why he said no in the first place, as he pulls his mask down. His protective instinct has kicked in.
Kitty frowns in annoyance. Wasn't she just making the point about having powers and being able to look after herself. "Hey! I can't get hurt," she points out and to prove her point she phases her hand through him.
"Whoa!" Peter remarks at how weird that is. "You're right. Sorry," he apologises, as he pulls his webshooters and gloves out of his school rucksack and slips them both on. Peter then wraps his arm around Kitty's waist. He should know better what she can do after they worked together against the Brotherhood he knows...but also, you know, protective instinct to keep everyone around him safe so no-one ends up like his Uncle because of him. He pushes his protective instinct down and jumps off the building with Kitty securely in his arm. He fires a webline and they swing off through towards the explosion.
Kitty can only say one thing in response to being swung through the air like this. "WHOOO HOOO!"
The doors to a bank get blasted open and out walking comes a guy in a brown and yellow costume with gauntlets on his arms. The Shocker. A bag full of stolen money is strapped to his back. "Everyone stays clear and no-one gets hurt," he warns in serious tones. "I am not joking!"
One girl with brown hair and blue eyes steps forward. "You kinda look like you're joking...or is that you look like a joke?"
Shocker raises his blasters and aim them at her. "I mean it girly. Back off!" he warns.
The girl arches an eyebrow and grins. "I'm going to have to say like no."
"Your funeral!" Shocker snarls and fires the shockwave his gauntlets emit...to absolutely no effect as they pass through the girl.
The girl rubs her left shoulder with a smile. "Can you do my back now? Because you like won't believe the stress I go through on a daily basis," she says implying all his blasts did was to give her the equivalent of a nice massage.
Shocker has to take a minute to think. This has never happened before. He blasts her again to the same no effect.
Kitty smirks. "You know Einstein said that the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Me...well I don't have any words of wisdom to give but you want to see what I can do?"
Kitty steps forward and sweeps her hands through both gauntlets. "I can phase myself through your cute little massagers. Isn't that like the coolest?" The devices spark and fizzle. "Except, oops, it displaces the molecules causing all the electrical thingamajigs inside to short out. My bad. Sorry," she says in a tone that shows she isn't sorry in the slightest and is in fact enjoying herself immensely.
Shocker raises them up and looks at them. "Oh no," he says because he knows what happens next.
Kitty steps right into his face. "Piece of advice..." she lowers her voice to a whisper. "Don't look behind you," she warns.
Shocker turns his head to find Spider-Man stuck on the wall right behind him.
Spider-Man waves cheerfully. "Hi Herman! Miss me?"
"AAAIEE!" Shocker screams like a girl before he does the only thing he can when his offensive weapons have been destroyed. He runs. He gets about 5 feet.
THWIP!
He runs right into a web and becomes stuck.
Kitty holds her hand out in Peter's direction and says, to the small gathered crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen...the Amazing Spider-Man!" she heaps praises on him.
The small crowd actually cheers in response.
"See they do like you," Kitty says, contradicting what Peter was saying about people hating Spider-Man as he gracefully leaps off the wall and lands next to her.
"Cute," Peter remarks with a smile under his mask. He shoots out a webline, gathers Kitty back in his arms and leaps into the air as he swings them away. He never sticks around since the cops tend to not like him...unless Captain Stacy is around.
Kitty moves around onto his back with her arms around his neck freeing up both his arms for webslinging. "So you're on first name terms with your villains?" she inquires with a bemused look.
"Meh," Peter shrugs. "Me and Herman do this routine like every month...although I thought he was in jail," he says a little confused by how Herman is out again so soon. He doubts the reason is good for him.
"I bet you like totally wish that Jameson guy was in jail."
"Have you been peeking at my Christmas wish list?"
"No...but seriously I've read his editorials. What is his problem?"
"Who knows. I have my theories but they're best not repeated in such sparkling company."
Kitty grins as Peter swings them back up to the roof where they started. He always takes a roundabout way back just to make sure no-one is trying to follow him.
Kitty closes her eyes, and rests her head on his shoulder and enjoys the feel of the air in her face. It was almost like flying. She enjoys the feel of Peter under her and boy did he seem to work out. He sure feels like he has a nice body.
Peter deposits them back on the roof and places Kitty down gently. He may not be Clark but he's easily strong enough to hurt a normally strong person. He pulls his mask off.
"Well Indiana Jones you certainly haven't forgotten how to show a lady a good time," Kitty quotes, showing off her geek knowledge.
"Yeah. You're something," Peter says back.
Kitty flicks some of her hair back shyly, fighting the urge to blush at the what he said.
"You're suppose to say: 'I'm something all right, until I get my five thousand dollars back you're getting more then you bargained for...'" Peter quotes the line from the movie. "No? Nothing?"
"Wow you like out-geeked me there," Kitty says sounding rather impressed actually.
"Well, I'm sure it won't be the last time," Peter says with a dorky smile.
Kitty smiles back and their heads move towards each other again...
Beep! Beep!
"Crap," Kitty says it like she's swearing as she pulls her phone out of her pocket. New text message. She reads it and groans.
"What?"
"My ride's here," she says with a certain sadness.
"Your ride?" Peter queries confused and then from above there is a strong gust of wind. Peter looks up to see the x-jet hovering overhead.
Kitty raises a hand to her head. "Uh huh. Right. You really need me? Ok. Ok. Stop going on and on Jean. Just give me a minute."
"Jean? What?" Peter asks confused by what is going on.
"Jean Grey. She's talking in my head," Kitty explains.
"And you made fun of the voices in my head?" Peter teases.
Kitty relays what Jean is saying in her head. "There's been some kind of mutant incident on the news in...Delaware? What the heck is in Delaware?"
"You gotta go huh?" Peter realises.
"I gotta go," Kitty confirms sadly as she was having a great time as matter of fact.
"Can we...do this again...another day?" Peter asks because...well he really enjoyed it and Kitty essentially just proved she can overcome the one concern that plagues him. She can't be hurt.
"Yeah. Like totally," Kitty says with a brilliant happy smile at that thought. "What's...uh what's your schedule like?"
"My schedule? It sucks."
"Yeah. Mine too. I think Logan plans these Danger Room sessions to keep us single until we're like 40," Kitty voices her opinion.
"I work Saturdays to help my aunt out money-wise but I'm free in the evening."
"Depends how long this thing will be. Might have to be next Saturday. I'll call and you know feel free to email...especially after 10. The Professor doesn't like the phone ringing late into the evening."
"Uh sure. Email address?"
"Oh right!" Kitty picks up her bag, which she left here, and pulls out a card and hands it over to Peter.
"You had business cards printed?" Peter queries with an amused expression.
"I got tired of writing it out," Kitty justifies that.
"So this Saturday or next Saturday?" Peter asks Kitty to confirm it is one of them.
"Sure...as long as I'm not like saving the world or anything. That would be the only reason I couldn't...or I'm killing Clark. That has to take precedent."
"Totally understand. Same goes for me...except for killing Clark. I like him. He laughs at my jokes."
"I laugh at your jokes too...and alright Jean! I'm coming!" Kitty shouts at Jean's telepathic nagging for her to hurry up. "Sorry. I really do have to go." Kitty bites her lower lip and asks one more thing. "Before...and at the mansion last week were you going to kiss me?"
"I-I think so," Peter stutters nervously as he rubs his neck awkwardly.
"Ok."
"Ok?"
"D-Do you still want to?" Kitty asks, being bold, because she so wants to kiss him really, really badly...and she isn't counting the kisses they had while they were under a spell. She wants a normal, not under the influence of any kind, kiss just to prove to herself that that spark she thinks is there really is there. She wets her lips. "I just don't want you to think I didn't if you..."
Peter decides to just go with that attraction he is feeling and stops Kitty's ramblings by taking one step forward, placing his hands on Kitty's back and kissing her full on the lips. One of Kitty's hands wraps around the back of his neck and one foot comes off the ground at the seriously good kiss and she responds to it in kind.
In the jet Clark chuckles.
"What's funny Space Boy?" Logan asks in his usual gruff tones.
"Oh just hoping Peter remembered some breath mints," Clark jokes as he spies with his x-ray vision eyes. "No doubt you'll be wanting words with him."
Dom's face lights up as she gets it. "Oh ho. Oh I'm just gotta hear about that one. Jean go fetch her!"
Logan growls as he gets it. Words. Oh yeah. Logan will be having words with the webhead. He can think of 3 right off.
Snikt!
Those three.
Back with Kitty and Peter they break apart and Kitty wonders where he learned to kiss like that because wow! Her whole face...her whole body feels flushed with heat. It was even better then the ones she remembered when they were under the spell.
Peter smiles warmly at the girl who just gave him a kiss that made his toes curl. He won't say how much he has been wanting to do that for at least the last hour. Then Kitty is lifting into the air as the side door to the jet opens and there stands Jean, dressed in uniform, hand to her head, telekinetically lifting Kitty into the jet.
Kitty waves goodbye as she rises before remembering something and desperately reaches into her bag. She throws something out at Peter. A rolled up paper. Peter catches it. "What's this?" he shouts at her.
"Just read it. You'll see!" is Kitty's response before she vanishes inside the jet which takes off across New York's skyline.
Peter frowns a little as he unrolls the paper...and it is a paper. The Bayville High school newspaper. Peter skims through.
"Mutant incident...X-Men...assisted by New York's finest hero Spider-Man..." he trails off his mutterings in complete surprise that a newspaper is saying something nice about him. He notes the date is from the beginning of the week and then he spots who wrote it.
Clark Kent.
Beep! Beep!
That's Peter's phone. He pulls it out of his currently discarded pants and reads the text.
Promised you I would write you something nice. Kept my word.
CK.
Peter can't help but let out a laugh at that. He never thought he would live to see the day he would get a nice article written about him. Clark was a great friend. With a much happier mindset Peter gets dressed and makes his way home, the whole time thinking about that kiss Kitty gave him. His thoughts are along the line of 'Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.'
"Good date?" Aunt May asks the second Peter walks in the door.
"Wasn't a date Aunt May...but yeah it was really something."
May smiles at the dreamy expression on Peter's face. She hasn't seen that in awhile. She hopes it means this relationship has a chance. As his family she can't help but wish him to be happy. "So when do I get to meet her?" May asks.
"Uh..."
May laughs at Peter's horrified expression. "A joke Peter," she assures him. "For now...but one day I would like to meet the girl dating my nephew."
"Sure Aunt May. Anything for you. You know that," Peter promises her. Will always promise her. He has to look after her now that Uncle Ben is no longer here.
May smiles at him warmly. "Well put your school things away and I'll get started on dinner."
"Sure Aunt May," Peter agrees with a happy smile that May hasn't seen on his face for months.
Peter almost leaps up the stairs to his room and throws his bag down. He goes to his window and looks up at the sky and makes a very simple wish. "God I know you and I don't seem to be on the best of terms with, you know, all the crap I go through...which I'm certain is all part of a bigger plan or you simply don't like me very much but I have one teeny tiny request, which is more for Kitty's benefit than mine because I want her to be happy, so could you see to it to please not let me screw this up for once. Pretty, pretty please? With a cherry on top?"
Elsewhere...
The home where she currently resided reeked of dark magic. Isobel could feel it penetrating into her pores. Perfectly suited place for her mother to live. Also the epitome of style and comfort...or what passes for it in this century. Her mother always did like to live the good life. Be worshipped...literally.
Isobel hated to be here but she had no choice. Tracking down her mother hadn't been overly taxing. If you happen to be a blood relation and know how Selene's magic works it is relatively easy as matter of fact. Her mother was the only person left Isobel could think of to help her with her current situation. She stands in her mother's study as Selene performs a binding spell upon her. It had taken 2 days to persuade her mother to do that. Isobel had practically had to beg...which was probably what her mother wanted in the first place. To humiliate Isobel.
"There," Selene says, once she's done. "I have stabilised your spirit within this vessel."
Isobel takes a moment to allow herself to relax. With her book destroyed it had taken immense effort and concentration to keep Lana suppressed. Now with her mother's magic binding her spirit to this body it was no longer necessary. She looks at her mother with a suspicious gaze. "You can undo this whenever you feel like it," Isobel accuses.
Selene smiles and walks up to her daughter. She strokes the cheek still marred by scars. She hadn't healed them even if she could do so. "I never make the same mistake twice my daughter. This way I know you shall not betray me as before." It is Selene's way of keeping her daughter under her thumb because she can now cast Isobel out whenever she desires, so Isobel does what she is told or she can go straight to hell...literally. Selene has her reasons for not destroying Isobel on sight after her daughter's betrayal all those centuries ago. Basically she was actually impressed by Isobel's determination and drive to cheat death. She'll never say this but, out of all her children, Isobel was amongst the most talented. It means Selene can use her.
Isobel has to swallow down the bile. She knew the price she would have to pay when she decided to seek her mother out. She accepted it...for the moment. "Will you help me?" she asks.
Selene snorts lightly. "Defeated by some mutants and a farmboy. As your mother the shame of such a pathetic defeat stains me," she says in disgust. Isobel was asking for help in gaining revenge and in finding those 3 stones of power she was always so obsessed with. Selene had been sure to get the whole story out of her daughter first before she would even consider agreeing to help because trust her daughter Selene does not.
"He was not an ordinary farmboy!" Isobel defends herself robustly. "I told you that!"
Selene rolls her eyes. "So he knows a few tricks. So does the average street magician these days."
"He is linked to the stones. I know he is."
Selene groans. "400 years and you're still obsessed by trinkets," she dismisses Isobel's quest.
"Trinkets left by Gods!" Isobel argues about why she thinks she must possess them.
Selene yawns. "Yes, yes. I've heard that before. Always turns out to be so disappointing," she says in complaint at other such trinkets she has found over the years.
Isobel raises her right hand. "I had it. In my hand. It burned me. I didn't imagine that mother!"
Selene rolls her eyes in utter contempt. "Daughter I have been around almost as long as those stones. Have you seen me obsessing over them? I think not."
"No you're merely obsessed with being thought of and worshipped as a God. Isn't that why you founded Nova Roma. To create a whole nation of people who would bow down to you. Whatever happened there?" Isobel asks with a mocking smirk. She knows what happened.
Selene's face darkens considerably. "Do not speak of that which you do not understand," she warns in a cold, harsh tone.
"What I understand is that I have suffered humiliation and I will not let it stand. Isn't that what you taught me? To never leave your enemies in a position of strength?"
Selene sighs. By agreeing to allow her daughter to return to her side she supposed she would have to accept taking on Isobel's enemies. A stain on Isobel is a stain on her. "Show me this farmboy," she commands since Isobel has seemed in particular to focus in on him.
"Surely you have seen him?" Isobel assumes. "He parades around as that Superman character."
"I do not waste my time on these so-called heroes. I've seen a thousand of them over the centuries. I leave such petty concerns to Shaw and..." Selene's lip curls up into a disgusted snarl, "Frost," she almost spits the name out with venom. Selene despises the woman but Shaw likes her so Selene lets it be...for now.
Isobel mentally notes how her mother said that. Hmm, she may have to try and forge an alliance with this Frost woman behind her mother's back. Could be useful in the longer term in aiding Isobel from getting out from under her mother's control. For now she'll play the repentant daughter. Isobel forms a glowing sphere of purple mist in the air and within conjures up an image of Clark Kent. Isobel then looks at her mother whose expression is one of sheer...horror?
"Impossible. That face," Selene says in a deathly quiet whisper of shocked horror. "No. It's wrong," she says as she studies it closer. "The eyes are the wrong colour and it's far too young. Has to be...his son. Yes."
"What?" Isobel asks, completely lost by her mother's babbling. It seems the years have deteriorated her mother's mind further than it was already.
Selene's eyes grow dark with anger and vengeance. "Nova Roma. You know I no longer rule it."
"I did a search on google. Wonderful thing all this little technology they've invented."
Selene humphs at that. She explains about Nova Roma. "I was...defeated and banished by an...abomination," she reluctantly admits her defeat. "A being who draws its power from light itself." Selene points at the image. "He looked just like that only add a few years. This farmboy must be his son," she makes the assumption.
Isobel looks at her mother bemused. "You let this being live?" That wasn't like her mother at all.
Selene growls. "He came from a place too far away for me to reach but this is an intriguing opportunity. I can make his son suffer in his stead." She looks at Isobel. "So I shall help you Isobel. In fact I will get Frost and that ragbag team of mutants of hers to assist since you said these X-Men are involved."
"They are. He's living there."
"Well Frost and her team can keep the peons busy. That's what she's for after all," Selene says disparagingly about Emma. "The farmboy is mine...and you may have the stones once I'm done with him," she says...unless they really are powerful in which case Selene will take them for herself but Isobel doesn't need to know that.
"We'll make him tell us where the stones are first right?" Isobel asks, just to make sure her mother doesn't get carried away and destroy Clark before she gets her answers. She knows how her mother so enjoys draining the life out of people.
"Of course. I intend to make his end as long and as painful as possible. He'll be begging me to end his miserable life before I'm done," Selene promises with a dark smile of anticipation. She turns to look directly at the image within the purple sphere. "Enjoy what time you have left because your end draws near...son of Jor-El," she says to the image. Her hand reaches into the sphere and she crushes it out of existence in the same manner as she intends to snuff out the boy's life.
Author's Note: I borrowed a lot of Peter and Kitty's date from the one they had in the Ultimate Spider-Man annual. And Clark's problems just got a whole lot more evil with Selene after his hide. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Cerebro finally gets fixed allowing the Professor to start recruiting new mutants and Magneto gets a very big surprise.