May asked, "Why?", and Peter replied, "Blanket for Princess, Aunt May. She would feel better if she had something of our scents. I read about that in a book somewhere.".
"Of course, you did. It's in the second closet down the hall, Peter.", May said, and Peter replied, "Thanks!", sprinting down the hallway, and Jasmine heard a door opening, closing before Peter returned with a small quilt sample, and he fluffed it, airing it out before placing it on the cat bed, "Is it alright, Princess?".
Jasmine had to explore it for a few moments before she found that it was actually fairly comfortable to sit on. She rolled herself up like she would see Rajah do before she laid down. "I guess so.", Peter smiled as he gently scratched Jasmine's ear.
"Don't you worry, Princess... we may not have much... but this is certainly a home I wouldn't trade for...", Peter whispered to her as Jasmine purred once more.
After dinner and the second trip to get her other things, Jasmine purred and watched Peter doing some Lego stuff and doing homework before he played with her for a while until Aunt May called for bedtime.
Jasmine sighed deeply as she settled down in her bed, glancing at the slumbering Peter, and smiled, whispering to herself, "Gordon was right...Peter, Ben, and May are really good people...I wonder this is what having a little brother is like...Well, he deserves a great friend, and I would appreciate having a wonderful friend in this strange world. For once, I don't feel sad anymore, but I surely will continue to miss home...For now, this is my second home, and I intend to protect it, with this family...", with a nod to herself before closing her eyes and fell asleep after such a day of life-changing fortune.
Jasmine found herself waking up to the familiar sound of the alarm clock as usual, loudly blaring in her ears as she started to open her eyes and recheck her surroundings. Just about dawn, as usual. Her head then turned from her bed to check her nearby sleeping occupant: 15-year-old Peter Parker who was sleeping like a rock. Honestly, if not for her, Peter probably would miss school more often. She gave herself a morning stretch before leaping from her bed onto Peter's, landing right near his head before she gave out some meows and gently licked his cheek.
Peter snuffled, digging deeper into his blankets, and Jasmine raised an eyebrow before patting at his face with her paw, claws in, of course.
The teenager only rolled over, curling up deeper, and Jasmine narrowed her eyes before walking along his body, pulling off the blanket with her teeth, revealing his bare feet, using her tail to tickle the skin, knowing that he is ticklish there, thanks to Ben and May when he was younger.
Some days, she would do this for a startling wakeup, other days, she has to be creative, if Peter is being extra stubborn.
This was one of those easier days as it turned out. A bit of tickling and Peter's defenses broke, and he found himself finally waking up. The alarm still was going so he reached over to give it a light smack to silence it. He missed a few times before he got it and opened his eyes. "Morning, Princess...", Peter groaned as he started to sit up.
Nature... really hadn't been the best to Peter in terms of his biology. His aunt and uncle always did assure him that he was more than likely a late bloomer in terms of puberty but day after day in school, Peter really wished it would come sooner rather than later since he was pretty much almost an embarrassment compared to his classmates.
A scrawny string bean of a weakling who was practically as blind as a bat without his glasses. "Crap... Princess... where did I put my glasses?", Peter groaned as he was trying to search the table for them.
Jasmine mewed with a roll of her eyes as she leaped up to the table-dresser, plucking the glasses at the back of the edge by her tail, and passed it to Peter's hand, and Peter put his glasses on. 5 years ago, he didn't have this problem as much, and his contacts helped back then, but now, his eyes got weaker, and it was difficult to get contacts of his decreasing sight, so glasses were the only thing possible.
Peter may think that the glasses make him look dorky and awkward, but Jasmine knows better than that. Those glasses make him look gentle and kind. And with being a late bloomer, Jasmine became used to Peter being skinny and scrawny as it was kind of reminding her of Aladdin in a way, but she saw him as a brother of sorts, a brother that she's meowing at, with a gesture of her tail at the alarm clock display.
"Ah, good... still enough time...", Peter sighed as he finally got out of bed. "Off to get ready for another day of hell...", he sighed again as Jasmine rolled her eyes once again.
He knew nothing of hell, but she couldn't blame him... what she experienced at Jafar's hands... if Peter knew the truth, he would be blessing every day of school from now on. "Peter? Are you up?", May's voice called out. "Time for school.".
"I'm up, Aunt May... I'm getting ready!", Peter told her as he took another sigh. "Thanks for waking me up there, Princess.", he scratched her head.
Jasmine purred softly, leaning her head against his fingers, and Peter chuckled, "Too bad you can't come with me, Princess...At least it would be a tiny bit more bearable...", with a sigh.
She flicked an ear, and mewed, and Peter smiled, "You're right...I have friends...But honestly, they're so beautiful, especially Jean...", with another sigh, looking a bit goofy with a smile.
Jasmine snorted lightly, remembering Gwen Stacy and Jean Grey. Jean had moved a couple of years ago here, and she kept up contact with Gwen Stacy who lived uptown. Unfortunately, Peter doesn't know that the ladies are technically together...something about friends with benefits which she found out one night a few months ago.
It was one of those nights that Jean's adoptive parents were out on a date or a party with some work associates, and Jasmine was prowling around, still a bit awake when she picked up sounds of something, still muffled somewhat, but picked up easily thanks to her cat hearing.
She went to check it out, soon finding that the sounds were coming from the house of the Watsons, the folks who adopted Jean, and being so curious, she went to see, jumping into a barrel, climbing the pipe with her claws out, and leaped into the windowsill, and saw a view that she never, ever imagined, but wished that she was involved in, somehow, strangely for some reason, probably wishing to be human.
The two young girls were in their underwear and very much making out like how two lovers would. Jasmine certainly wasn't very familiar with homosexuality back in Agrabah where that had been a crime punishable by death. And in her case, almost anything regarding sexual was kept fairly hidden away from her per her father's desire to keep her pure until she was married to a prince. It didn't stop her truly to learn somethings, but it was nowhere compared to much of the knowledge she could learn in 21st century New York.
Jasmine had to wonder what drove the girls to each other. Jean Grey was, in short, the most popular girl at Midtown High School despite being an only a sophomore; her beautiful looks had pretty much attracted the attention of most of the male student body; fiery red hair, emerald, green eyes, and flawless pale skin.
Perhaps that may have been one of the reasons. Most of the guys; especially the more jock-ish and top of the social hierarchy pyramid at school, very much just saw her as a pretty face which she was clearly much more than that. Perhaps that had been the reason why she went for someone like Gwen Stacy.
Gwen, on the other hand, was a bit of an enigma if one could say. She certainly was good looking herself, blonde hair, bright blue eyes, there was no shortage in terms of the looks department to her. But perhaps it was the fact that she was wickedly clever and was a bit odd in terms of many of the other girls. Many of them were all the typical teen girl stereotypes, shopping, boys, cheerleading, that sort of thing. Gwen was much more for her books and odd hobbies which is what led her to a close friendship with Peter.
But strangely enough, despite Gwen and Jean's secret relationship... Peter never had been able to say more than 'Hi' to the redhead nor had Gwen gone out of her way to introduce the two of them to each other. Jasmine had to guess that might have been more to keep their friends with benefits thing a secret from others.
And of course, Jasmine knew a few things in rumors that Peter told her, like Gwen and Jean being technically orphaned before getting adopted by their families respectively, or Jean going to a private school in the summers or Gwen having a single father as the chief of the best precinct in the city.
And of course, Peter told her that the girls can somehow catch people in closets or other places at school as they're hall monitors, with many people swearing that the two girls had eyes in the back of their heads.
Which is what Jasmine had experienced practically firsthand that night when she was spotted by Jean and then Gwen. While Jean seemed off for a moment, Gwen quickly recognized Jasmine, considering she had seen her with Peter in the past. Jasmine knew something was off between the two of them at that moment, but she just couldn't nail down what that was.
Jasmine didn't feel the slight probe of Jean reading her mind, discovering her memories of being human and more as Gwen looked at Jean in concern, "Jean?", as the window was partially closed.
"Yeah?", the young redhead said. "Something the matter? Why are you looking at Princess like that?", Gwen asked as Jean finished closing the window, ending any chance for Jasmine to see anything more.
"I... um...", Jean started to say. "What? Worried she's going to meow to Peter about this?", Gwen gave a light chuckle for a moment before seeing Jean's troubled look. "There's something more, isn't it?".
"Call me crazy...", Jean rubbed her arm. "But 'Princess' there... isn't actually a cat...". Gwen raised an eyebrow, "Even crazier than me being an alien girl?", having known the truth of how she got adopted ever since her powers manifested two years ago, from her father, George Stacy.
15 years ago, the then investigation cop was on vacation, camping north of New York City, in the forest when something happened in the night while he was cooking his dinner.
George Stacy's life had taken a rough turn. The lifelong cop's marriage had broken down when his ex-wife felt that he just was too focused on his job rather than on her. And George was quietly regretting the fact that he didn't fight harder to keep her... that she was right, he was more focused on his career rather than his personal life. It had been several months since the divorce when he had been 'ordered' by his precinct captain to go on vacation.
George decided some camping in the vast forests of New England, north of NYC would be fine. It wasn't too expensive, and it would give him time alone to think to himself without the urge to look over paperwork and case files as opposed to vacationing at home. But he was certainly never expecting what he would experience that night of camping.
It was quiet and quite a bit busy with the nocturnal animals outside the site with the campfire, and George was cooking some fish he caught from the nearby pond, enjoying the pleasant sound of sizzling when he heard an unfamiliar sound, a sonic boom piercing the air, rattling the trees.
He instinctively reached for his holster, going for his gun before realizing that he doesn't have it as he can't have his gun in New England, not registered here, only to New York City, and he exhaled, hearing the sound of unfamiliar engines suddenly backfiring and clunking as if the sonic boom did something, and then saw smoke flashing out on a white object as it passed over him high, then dived.
Geroge's mind raced at what he had just witnessed, but one thing was for sure, he had to see what exactly that was considering when he then heard the sound of something making a hard crash not too far away. He rushed through the forest for a good half a mile before he finally came across an improvised clearing... thanks in part to the trees being ripped apart from the object that crashed into them. George's eyes widened at what he saw in the crater that had been left. It was no meteorite or anything of the Earth but rather what looked to be a small, grey, metallic spacecraft.
George cautiously walked closer, grabbing a stick while getting his knife, watching any signs of anything happening with this small, grey spacecraft, when a door hissed open, and George was ready, tense, watching when a whimper was heard, and then cries of a baby was heard.
George was practically stunned by the discovery. A small, blonde haired little baby girl, crying and wailing and she looked completely human! George wasn't one to really believe in UFOs but when he saw the craft a moment ago, he was worried about what was inside... and yet, here was what he was having to believe that a human baby was the passenger of this craft.
George's mind raced at what to do next. Part of him was thinking he needed to rush off and find the nearest authorities to report what might as well be the discovery of the ages... but then his mind practically flashed almost with his imagination running at what would probably happen. He blamed movies which he watched at a younger age, but he suddenly was worried that whomever he would hand this ship and especially its passenger over to would not have the best interests at heart for the baby girl.
George then exhaled deeply as he sheathed his knife, and dropped the stick, walking closer and deeper into the ditch, and then touched the craft, whispering to the baby girl, "Hey, hey, it's okay, little one, I got you...", as the baby girl whimpered, her cries and wails quieting down as she blinked with tears at the man, almost looking like her father in a way.
"That's it, I won't hurt you, baby girl.", George smiled gently as he went to pick the swaddled baby girl up, brushing against a button on the console, and then suddenly, a holographic message of two people appeared, speaking in various languages repeatedly before touching English.
"If anyone of Earth finds this, please take care of our baby girl, Kara...We were the Jor-El family of Krypton. Protect her, give her a name of Earth, raise her for us...We died for her, so she can live...She will be different, but please see her as the sweet, energetic, and wonderful girl we knew.", the two people replied with tears in their eyes, fear, determination, and hope engraved on their faces, with the male having the baby girl's blue eyes, and the female having the baby girl's blonde hair.
The message continued on, "To protect our baby girl and the slim chance of our people surviving, this message and the craft will combust within 10 minutes of the activation of the message.".
"Well... that solves the craft problem then...", George said to himself as he took a deep breath and started to walk away from the craft with Kara in hand, "Come on then... best not be anywhere close to your ship when it goes up..."
He sighed as he looked into her little eyes, "Don't worry, I'll protect you, Kara... I'll try to be the best father I can be...". He frowned; knowing how difficult it would probably be. He already screwed things up with his ex... but, Kara had nowhere to go, no one to rely on and care for now.
Kara cooed, placing her small hands on his face, smiling gummily with two teeth. George smiled with a warm chuckle, gently caressing her blonde hair tufts.
"At least you're old enough to eat solid foods from the looks of it, but best to take it slow. Don't wanna make you sick with anything...and I hope you don't hate me when you are old enough to know this, Kara...huh, I think your parents are right...you need an Earth name to fit in...I used to have a grandmother with blue eyes. Her name was Gwendolyn, but she was called Gwen for short...How do you like to be Gwen Stacy?", George murmured with a smile as he was already smitten with this little one.
Kara... or rather now Gwen, gave a small coo, seemingly satisfied with the new name that she had been given, even if she probably didn't fully comprehend it at the moment. George made quick work to clean up his campsite and get back to his vehicle and drive as far away from the area as possible, with only a few minutes left on the craft self-destruct timer. The sooner he was away, the safer Gwen would be from anyone who would be interested in her. George's mind was racing on how to explain her or how to take care of her, but one thing was for sure, he'd make sure that she would be safe.