Chapter 2: Nova (Sam Alexander)
He was sitting on the roof of Peter Parker's home, staring at the stars. The team was having a sleepover there and he felt sad that his real family couldn't see how good he'd turned out. Aunt May was always so nice. When the Helicarrier had crashed, he'd been so excited about staying here. He'd been missing his family for so long, he'd even wash dishes and do all the chores in the world to please her. He brought her a flower and as he'd stepped into Pete's home, he thought, My gosh! This isn't a dream, it's really happening! One chance to get her to like me, one chance to have a mother for a while. I hope I don't blow it. He was nervous and hoped it didn't show. As he offered to do the dishes and handed Aunt May the flower, he knew he'd won her approval. It was a dream come true and he had been close to happy tears, he remembered how he''d really hoped it didn't show. He tried to cover by barging into Pete's room and commenting on the boxes he guessed contained Pete's prized comics. He remembered how he hoped Spiderman wouldn't see how desperately he'd wanted Aunt May to believe in him and do fun things with him that he'd done with his own family as he told him he hadn't had a real family around in a long time. He remembered how sad he'd been to go back to the Tricarrier after it had been finished. Tonight, he had felt more removed from the group in the living room than usual. He started doing something he never did, he started thinking about his family. He watched Christmases and other holidays and birthdays over the years play through his mind.
Presently, he realized that he wasn't as alone on the roof as he'd thought he was. Peter was standing there next to him. "Hey, Buckethead." He said as he sat down next to Sam. "What's eating you? What are you doing out here by yourself?" "I thought you were downstairs with everyone else." Sam said in a voice that didn't sound like his own. He noticed a lone tear was trailing down his cheek. When had he started crying? "It seems you take long bathroom runs. We all thought you tried to join the Helicarrier in the Hudson." Peter said in a gently joking tone. He reached over and wiped the tear off Sam's cheek, then placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Talk." He gently commanded. Sam sighed a little shakily. He wasn't crying anymore.
"Remember when we accidently tore down your house that night we were going to throw you that thank you party?" He asked. Peter nodded. "Remember when I told you that I hadn't had any family around in a while?" Again Peter nodded. "Well, I was remembering them. My real family. I was thinking of all the fun times we had. Before, you know." "Yeah?" Sam nodded. "Hey, Webhead, you lost your parents before I lost mine. You've had longer to deal with it. Does it ever get easier?" Sam looked up at the stars again, unable to meet Pete's eyes. "Over time it does. At least it did for me. But it will always come back. Always. Of course, I didn't lose my whole family, so I guess I don't have it as hard." "Right." They sat silently for a while, then Peter broke the silence and said," You know Sam, you do still have my Aunt May and me and the team. We're all close enough to be family, wouldn't you say?" Sam hugged Peter hard in reply. Peter just reached up and hugged him back. Then they got up and got back into the house through the window. As they were walking to the stairway, Sam said, "Thanks Webhead." Peter just nodded in response. Duties of a leader. He was starting to enjoy helping his team.