The Astonishing Spider-Man & Talon

by Forget the hyphen

During a guilt-ridden exile, Peter Parker meets a girl named Laura Kinney who's troubles mimic his own. Maybe the two can help each other move past their problems, make each other better, and maybe find something lost; But in his ever-changing world that is never easy, there will be new enemies and new responsibilities, but with Laura at his side, he won't be alone. OwnUniverse!

8. Chapter 8: Come Fly With Me

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Laura yelled snarled, embodying animalistic rage just like The Lizard as she sunk her claws deep into its chest, causing the creature to howl and rid itself of the girl who savagely chopped off its hand before it did so. She cleaved through its entire upper body, causing its organs to be exposed before they were quickly covered up by the creature's regeneration which stopped its utter decimation at the hands of the girl who caused it to screech and shriek in pain which allowed the girl to use its body to give her the reach to slash its throat which squired blood from the wound.

She attacked its legs next upon landing, cleaving the creature off its feet and causing it to fall onto the ground and allowing the five-five girl to shred its insides into microscopic pieces. Her yells drowned out its screams of pain as she stabbed it again, and again, and again, showering herself in its blood as all it could do was lay there and take it.

Peter watched, eyes shining with beaming light full of nothing but relief and joy as he saw the girl deal with the reptilian monster who he believed had stolen her life. He tried to get up to assist her but stumbled and ultimately fell back down, his body still needed to recover from the powerful blows he allowed himself to take when he believed the girl had died.

He still needed a little bit more time to gather his strength back.

He watched how The Lizard's tail slowly made its way towards her.

"Look out!" he yelled but she didn't budge choosing to gouge it's inside instead.

It wrapped around her body and instantly flung her through the nearest wall.

"Laura!" Peter yelped in fear but ceased when she got up, unphased and unscathed by The Lizard's attack which had given the creature a moment of respite to regrow its lost limbs. The two looked at each other with their blood-red eyes as they growled and snarled with pure hatred for one another like wild beasts.

They both ferociously yelled before charging at each other once more.

They clashed like two rabid dogs fighting each other. The both of them took each other's attacks, unphased by the gashes and lacerations that were inflicted upon each other as they were dead set on murdering the other.

Any wound The Lizard would inflict on her would instantaneously heal and any wound she inflicted on it would heal as well – but at a much faster rate.

Laura had held her ground for as much as she possibly could but The Lizard was faster than her, bigger than her, stronger than her and it only took one swift hit to have her be sent tumbling away.

In her savage state though, she refused to lose to it and dug her claws deep into the concrete street.

The Lizard lunged at her, but she simply slashed at its mouth, taking chunks of it off as its body crashed into hers, pinning her body to the ground with its hand and tail while using its dominant hand to beat her with hits that echoed into the street.

At least that's what it intended to do, but putting the girl in a vulnerable state gave Peter's body plenty of motivation to get the energy he needed to fight it once more.

"Get off of her!" Peter angrily and protectively yelled, tackling the creature off of the girl to give her a moment to breathe.

The spider and The Lizard both rolled down the street, hitting each other with blows of equal force that echoed throughout the entire block. Neither of them were pulling their punches, but Peter couldn't keep this up for long as he wasn't lucky enough to heal instantaneously as Laura did.

However, he would take a page out of her book and use one of his stingers to decapitate one of its hands. It was the farthest thing from a clean-cut, the lack of space and time not allowing Peter the luxury to cleave through its hide effortlessly but what he lacked in space, he made up with force and powered through The Lizard enhanced bones to complete the decapitation.

"Not so fun now that you're the one on the bottom, is it?" Peter asked as The Lizard was now pinned down on the street, barely enduring his blows as he tried to come up with some type of plan. The Lizard's second wind had greatly increased its healing abilities, he and Laura had to make it back to the house to get another one of the cures before he got another power-up.

His spider-sense went off.

"Oh crap," Peter thought, bracing himself for the oncoming attack from its tail – which he was seriously starting to hate a lot. He was smashed onto the ground and the Lizard had quickly reversed their previous positions.

Laura had once again come to his rescue for she lunged on its back and savagely made it resemble Swiss cheese coating every single party in its blood.

His heart skipped a beat as he saw her claws effortlessly pierce through its body and barely graze his chest.

Did she forget that he was still here?

Her relentless strikes had caused The Lizard's body to be pressed against his and he tried his hardest not to get his face bitten off as he had his arm underneath its jaw to prevent that from happening.

"I'm still here!" he yelled at Laura in an attempt to have her cease. She didn't. The Lizard used its tail to strike the savage Laura once again, who once again, found herself flung by it.

But by having the Lizard focus on her, it gave Peter an opening to give it a powerful right hook, sending it off of him.

He quickly stood up and watched as Laura once again charged at it.

She attacked it in a flurry that only left blood again but because of her state, she was blatantly ignoring its attacks, leading to her getting backhanded by it.

Peter punched it, sending it spiraling back.

He was standing next to the savage Laura who went to attack it but he grabbed her arm in an attempt to stop her.

This was going nowhere and if they continued on like this then…

His spider-sense went off immediately and he turned to look at The Lizard who was letting out a roar as it prepared to pounce at them.

It just wouldn't give him a break.

He really wanted a time out right now to digest all that was happening. It regurgitated the cure, it snapped Laura's neck, she died, came back, got a second wind like this whole Lizard, and went all anime come back.

She died.

She came back.

That alone made him want to ball out in tears of joy right now but as you could see: he was really busy with a ginormous sewer gator and Laura who was seemingly out of control.

He'd have to try and get through to her cause going on like this would waste time and he was really missing those pretty emerald eyes of hers.

His spider-sense was still going off like crazy though, he had to be missing something…

He felt the feeling of cold metal slice his chest open.

He looked at Laura whose eyes were still bloodshot as her claws diagonally ripped open his chest.

Oh.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't so smart to grab her hand when she was angrier than the Hulk.

He let go of her immediately and stumbled back a bit, clutching his chest tightly as blood seeped out the deep burning laceration which caused him great agonizing pain which he broadcasted through his cries.

Laura's growls instantly cease.

She blinked multiple times, disorientated by the abrupt state of consciousness she was now in and the new scene in front of her.

Peter wasn't pinned down to the ground, screaming her name as The Lizard beat him senseless.

He was stumbling away from her, holding his hand over two gashes that she hoped were from the Lizard.

"P-Peter…?" he anxiously called out his name, raising her hand in an attempt to reach him; however to her horror, to her distraught, she found that her right hand was covered in blood.

His blood…

Her blood ran cold, her body froze as she gazed at the boy whom she just maimed, the boy who she trusted – who she cared about.

Who she hurt…

Upon hearing his name, the stumbling boy lifted his gaze from the blood that leaked from his two gaping gashes and onto the girl who inflicted them. Her eyes weren't bloodshot anymore, and the stoic, usually angry face that belonged to her was full of anguish, worry…

…Fear.

The raven-haired girl could only watch as Peter quickly ran to her, shoving her to the ground – moving her out of the way from The Lizard's imminent pounce which crashed into the boy. It dug its talons deep into his body before viciously ripping them out and pounding him with all its might.

This was really painful, but he didn't have to say it as his agonizing screams did it for him.

Laura's heart sank as the terror she rarely felt prevented her from moving despite her hardest efforts.

It grabbed him by the neck with one hand and his legs with another and Laura could only watch in absolute horror as it raised his body above its head before sinking its teeth deep into his hip.

He thought the last one hurt.

He let out another scream of pain which could be heard throughout the entire neighborhood.

Her heart sank further down, the feeling of helplessness, the memory of the snowy mountains replaying in her mind…

The memory of a corpse…

She threw those memories to the side, not wanting – not allowing that moment to repeat itself but her attempt to save him was easily thwarted by The Lizard who whipped his body in her direction, shaking the ground with the boy's body after it cast Laura back the way she came with it.

With each slam, he was beginning to feel less and less and he lucidly wondered if The Lizard wanted him to have an intimate relationship with the ground. He didn't know how many times he was slammed before he was inevitably tossed at the girl who frantically scrambled to get onto her feet before she was swooped off of them once more by his body which sped at her.

Laura ignored the Lizard's victorious howl as she got up. She ignored its existence entirely as her main priority was looking for Peter while her mind was in turmoil.

Her movements were erratic, her heart threatened to burst.

She attacked him.

Animal.

She found his body limply lying meters away from her and she quickly scurried to his side.

Weapon.

"Peter!" she screamed out in fear, quickly using her hands to cover the numerous wounds that his life escaped through.

He was bleeding everywhere, and severely injured.

Because of her.

Monster.

He violently coughed out blood underneath his mask as she said this, letting out a brief chuckle before weakly saying "...still here…" his strained voice joked though his joke had the adverse effect

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-" she frantically apologized, tears streaming down her face as she battled against his wounds.

Logan was right about her…

…they all were…

How many times did she have to hurt the people she cared about until she accepted the fact that she was a monster?

"It's…it's alright, tis' but a scratch," he attempted to put on a voice but it still sounded strained and weak regardless.

In his weakened state where everything was spinning and he was seeing threes, he gazed at the girl's face which oddly remained clear as day.

Stared into her eyes which were full of life.

He placed a hand on her chin which caused her to freeze, "I'm…I'm so glad…you're alive…" he voiced his relief, putting his hand on her face which caused her to freeze.

She held onto it, looking at him with a mixture of almost every emotion on the board.

She couldn't get to ask why, as a powerful footstep interrupted her.

She instantly turned around, looking at The Lizard with apprehension as it walked towards them, its tongue fully extended at the sight of Peter which ignited a hungry fire in its eyes.

She looked back at the boy who wheezed, "Oh…that's not good…can I call a timeout?" he asked with his voice which had a bit more strength in it but it was not nearly enough for him to speak clearly – not nearly enough for him to even move.

She got up and withdrew her claws. The worry, the shame, the guilt, was quickly subverted by a quiet anger at herself which she used to stare the creature down.

Killer.

She didn't care that it was a human once, nor that it had a family. It was either the creature or the boy behind her, and she would choose him over the creature's life.

"Curt, that's enough!" a female voice yelled from down the street.

The Lizard immediately turned to face who it was, completely ignoring the two teenagers as if they had suddenly become negligent.

Peter and Laura both looked on in shock as its wife – Martha was the one who bravely grabbed its attention.

"No…" Peter said as he knew what was going to happen.

He rolled himself onto his stomach and with all his might tried to get back up.

"It-it's me you want, right?" she asked in a shaky voice, completely and utterly trembling in fear at the monster who was once her husband.

It was completely silent as it approached her.

"I-I know you won't hurt me," she said as her legs threatened to shatter.

With its guard completely down, Laura had gone to use this brief moment to deliver a fatal blow that would kill it but Peter taking slow steps forward made her instantly throw all those plans away.

Her eyes bulged at his broken and mangled body which should be resting.

He shouldn't even be able to stand, let alone walk.

He was losing too much blood.

The Lizard stopped right in front of Martha but she didn't budge as she looked into its eyes. "...That's right, you won't hurt me," she reiterated, catching glimpses of the man it once was which gave her the courage to slowly approach it.

"Dad!" the voice of Billy boomed from the left as he ran towards his family.

"Billy, I told you to stay in the house!" Martha urgently yelled as she looked at her son who disobeyed her frantic order.

Laura had gone underneath Peter's arm in an attempt to support him but he remained unphased as he still strode towards The Lizard. "Spider-Man and his partner made a cure Dad! It can help you!" Billy exclaimed while he was lifted into the arms of his mother.

The two teens who were left completely ignored watched with anxiety as The Lizard slowly grabbed Martha.

It brought its finger to stroke her cheek with the hand it now had, "Curt…" she said as she knew her husband was still in there.

Curt in question gently placed his hands on both his wife and son.

"...dad?" Billy asked with a hopeful voice.

Its grip got stronger and before any of them could scream, they were taken blocks away with a massive leap.

"NO!" Peter yelled as he tried to run in chase but his wounds were still fresh and he collapsed to the ground as soon as he escaped Laura's grasp. She urgently went to his side, falling onto her knees and using her body as a means to support him. The fears she had temporarily put to the back of her mind were quickly coming to the surface but she kept them at bay no matter how overwhelming they were.

"Don't move," she commanded, wrapping her arms around his body softly with the utmost care.

"We…we have to go after them," he weakly but determinately stated.

"You're hurt," she declared with worry, which was just a glimpse of the emotions that threatened to drown her.

"That doesn't matter," was what he tried to say but Laura interrupted him.

"It does matter!" she snapped instantly as she guided him to a discrete area. She gently placed him against a wall in an empty alleyway, before breaking into a desolate apartment through a window.

She searched for a first aid kit while her mind tormented her with flashes of her life as the voices she tried to ignore came back. She saw a mountain made up of piled corpses that dwarfed her, staring at her with their lifeless eyes as her mother inhumanly stood at the top, along with the brunette boy who uttered a simple word…

Weapon.

She instantly came back with a first aid kit and immediately tended to his wounds with her trembling hands. She tended to his hip first for it was the gravest of all but upon grabbing the disinfectant, the boy she wished to save – to live, told her, "Not…enough… time."

The more time they wasted on treating his wounds the more time they gave the Lizard to do whatever with its family.

She didn't listen to him and tore pieces of his costume that obstructed her from cleaning them. He hissed, tightening his body as she proceeded to clean his wounds while letting inaudible murmurs that escaped her mouth which was covered by her obsidian locks.

"...remind me not to get on your bad side," Peter said with a pained laugh, unable to register the utter distraught she was in.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled as she finished patching the bite wound.

"You better be…those claws of yours are real painful ya know," he light-heartedly added but his words sunk her heart further.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered once again, her voice trembling significantly more this time as she treated his second most fatal wound.

A wound inflicted by her.

Now despite how oblivious he could be, the uncharacteristic apology she gave him, her voice which was on the precipice of breaking down, and the severe trembling of her arm caused him to instantly shut up. He berated himself – scowled at himself inwardly for only making the girl's saddened state worse.

In an attempt to console her he held it.

She whipped her head up to face him as he held her hand softly within his.

He could see the tears that were welling in her eyes.

"...It's alright, believe it or not, I don't really care about this…I'm just glad you're still alive," he confessed with all his heart before breaking into another uncontrollable and painful burst of claws. Sure she might have attacked him but considering the fact that she was growling and snarling, she probably wasn't in the right mind at the given time. He couldn't fault her for that, and even if he could, he wouldn't anyway.

He was just glad that she was alive.

"Why?" she weakly asked him, staring at the white lenses that reflected her own pitiful, distasteful, ugly visage that belonged to one who could only hurt.

"Because I really care about you, Snikity-Snikt," he admitted with passion and sincerity which made it harder for her to hold back her tears. The voices that were berating her had stopped, the flashes had gone away and all she could see was him.

Her heartbeat grew louder and her fingers were slowly overlapping his but before they could, she looked at the two deep wounds on his chest and violently released herself from his soft grip, and shook her head with anger.

"YOU SHOULDN'T!" she yelled at him with the utmost hate, refusing his kind gesture, his forgiveness, his care.

She was a monster.

A killer.

She didn't deserve care.

"You keep saying that but then you give me so many reasons as to why I should," he retorted, patting his hand over the bandage she had just wrapped around him.

"I hurt you…" she mumbled, her voice radiating guilt and self-loathing which wouldn't allow her to register his words.

"Now I know I said your claws hurt earlier but the truth is I barely felt-"

"-WILL YOU SHUT UP – FOR ONCE?" she yelled at the top of her lungs, grabbing him by his shoulders which caused him to indeed, shut up.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT ME AND YOU'RE WRONG!" She stated with firm conviction, but her lack of eye contact betrayed her firm belief.

"Laur-" Peter tried to call out her name but at the mere mention of it, she reluctantly lifted it up, meeting his gaze, meeting her reflection which she both spoke to.

A single tear she could not hold back went down her face as her eyes displayed nothing but pain, regret...resignation…

"I know what I am….I'm not a hero…I'm not a person…I'm a weapon…" she confessed to him with the utmost shame, unable to meet his hidden eyes, unable to meet her reflection.

"I hurt people…" his weak and shaky voice added which was the final straw for Peter who wanted to disprove all she had just said.

"Laura, that's not tru-"

"IT IS TRUE! I'VE HURT PEOPLE! …I've killed people, it's the only thing I've done…it's the only thing I can do," she admitted with the tears she was holding back now traveling down her face which whimpered at the realization that she so desperately wanted to disprove but only furthered it which each attempt she made.

Her hold on him had weakened, her gaze was stuck on the ground as her mind was too preoccupied with the seas of sorrow which burst along with her hope of being anything other than a killer. She expected him to forcefully remove her from him, to try his best to get away from her but instead, he visibly relaxed his body and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I already guessed that part Laura," he said softly, which surprised her, causing her tear-stained eyes to look into the lenses she so desperately wanted to remove.

"Well…the killing people part at least. 'These claws were made for killing. What would you do if I told you I was a killer?" he mimicked her saddened voice with a chuckle.

"Why then?" she asked with nothing more than a want to know why he allowed her to help him, why he cared about her, why he protected her when he knew she killed people.

Why he said all those things which lifted her heart…

"Because I've hurt people too, Laura," he confessed, removing his warm hands which left her shoulders cold and barren as he took off his mask to reveal solemn blue eyes that looked into her green ones.

Blue eyes which reflected her pain…

…her sorrow…

…her guilt.

"I've hurt a lot of people Laura…especially the ones I care about…who all wind up dead because of me alongside a mountain of others no matter how hard I try…" he admitted with guilt and disdain reeking every word he spoke.

She widened her eyes in response to this and lost her grip.

"I wasn't always like this Laura," he started to say as he gestured to his mask, "Once upon a time I was just an orphan kid from Queens who lived with his aunt and uncle who took him in within a heartbeat after his parents died. Despite them being anything but rich and barely middle class, they gave me everything I could ever ask for…but they couldn't give me friends. No one liked me in school, I was always made fun of and ignored as if I straight up didn't exist or didn't matter – the only time I was given any attention was when they wanted to hurt me for their laughs. It didn't take long for me to grow into someone who was bitter– someone who hated everyone else. I hated everyone so much that if the whole world burned alongside everyone in it, I wouldn't care as long as my aunt and uncle were okay," he passionately stated, recalling the immense anger he had for the world – for the people in it who he was just a single step away from wanting them all to burn.

Laura believed his words but at the same time, she couldn't.

She couldn't picture him bitter and angry at the world.

"Then on one fateful day, everything changed. My passion for science led me to this public exhibition where this one in a million chance – straight up complete and utter accident, where a bit me – granting me powers," He laughed in amusement as to how stupid that sounded.

"I gained all these amazing and spectacular powers. I was no longer this frail kid who had to wear rounded glasses and hide away from those who picked on him. I was built like an Olympian and had the strength of Hercules. I could walk on any surface, I had a sixth sense that alerted me to danger. I could lift up a car with only my fingers and I wouldn't even break a sweat. I could jump stories high with minimal effort, and I had the agility and acrobatic skill that no other human could possibly have," He stated with complete wonder in awe in his voice at his extraordinary power but it soon dropped along with his face.

"...Do you know what I did with them, Laura?" he asked her, looking past his brow which displayed nothing but shame.

"What?" she hesitantly asked.

"I used them to beat up the people who bullied me and then I used them to get myself rich through wrestling. Did that for weeks, and I even became a superstar. Contracts, signings, you name it, I got offered. I had everything I ever wanted: power, fame, money – I had everything that was owed to me," he said with a hateful voice that didn't sound like him at all.

"Then one day after a match with some guy who had a stupid name, I went to collect my money as I did the previous matches and I saw some guy running down the hallway approaching me. He had a bag of money in one hand, a gun in another and the police were chasing him. He had robbed the people I made a deal with for my matches…I guess he saw the money I was making and wanted a share or something…" he paused, vividly remembering that day…

"...He was right in front of me Laura… the police were telling me to stop him… and I could've by simply sticking out my leg…Do you know what I did instead?" He asked Laura who he expected to say that he stopped him, that he thwarted the robbery and saved the day.

She looked at him with a soft expression instead.

"Nothing…I did nothing….It wasn't my job after all," he started letting out some chuckles and she looked at him worryingly, "When the officer asked me why I didn't stop him, I told him that I only look out for myself," he burst out laughing in complete disbelief at himself before putting his hand on his head and saying, "..The man I let go later broke into my house and shot my uncle," he finished, tears going down his face as well at the cataclysmic event which forever changed his life – more so than the spider.

Laura's emerald green eyes gleamed at him with nothing but sympathy and complete understanding of what he felt – of his pain.

"My uncle! the only person outside my aunt to ever care about me – died because of me!" he said in an overexaggerated tone, accusing himself loudly for all to hear.

"...because of me," he murmured, dropping his head as the crushing weight of his actions made it hard to keep up.

"Ever since that day I've used my powers for the sake of others, but at every turn I did the right thing someone else always got hurt – some of them even died. The only person to ever support me died because I failed to save him. He asked me to protect his daughter…" he tried to stop himself but it was too late now, the dam was open and there was no closing it.

"...She also died because of me," Tears were going down his face now, "Her name was 'Gwen Stacy.' She was the smartest, weirdest girl in the world. She wore lots of hair bands and raincoats but it worked for her. She died because some guy found out who I was. She died for no other reason than she was associated with me….she died because of me…" he let out.

She didn't say anything.

"For the past month, I thought of myself as nothing but a failure, a miserable excuse as a hero, much more a person. I'm pretty sure you know how that feels too," Laura lowered her gaze and nodded, knowing and constantly feeling what he just confessed to her.

He let out a couple of sniffs but the tears were done going down.

"You asked me why I let you come along Laura, and the answer is pretty simple really. You wanted to help me, and I wanted to help you," he stated with conviction, putting a hand on one of her arms which still loosely held his shoulder.

"You said you hurt people, that you've killed people, that it's the only thing you know how to do, Well I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. You can do more than that, you've shown it time and time again for the brief moment I've been with you," he said with wholehearted belief but she still couldn't be convinced.

"But I hurt you."

"And you're also bandaging me up. I know what it's like to see yourself as only your failures, but despite how hard it can be to believe it, we are more than them. No matter how much they hurt, we learn from them and then we do our best to make up for them," He told the lesson he learned from his own personal experience but the girl lowered her gaze.

"I could never make up for them…" she began to say as she returned her hands to herself.

"...I was not born…I was cloned from a man by a facility with the purpose of being the perfect weapon. For most of my life I was kept in a cell as they conducted experiments on me…." she softly confessed as Peter's eyes widened at this revelation.

"Is that why your claws are made of metal?" he hesitantly asked.

She slowly nodded, recalling the memory which was burned into her brain.

"They took them out and coated them in adamantium before putting them back in," Peter looked at her with worry in his eyes as he couldn't possibly imagine what that must've been like, "They trained me to kill at a young age. They treated me as if I was a weapon – a machine…" she held herself, trying to keep steady.

"My master and mother were the only people who were kind to me…" her voice began to tremble.

He didn't like where this was going.

"They made me kill my master…" he didn't like where this was going at all.

"They made me kill my mother…" and as she looked down in shame, she relinquished her hold and attempted to wipe away the tears that had gone down her face, but the action left her body cold, exposed – vulnerable.

That was until arms gently wrapped themselves around her.

She froze at the foreign gesture, but she didn't fight, she didn't retract, she didn't leave.

She allowed him to pull her close, to secure her, to hide her, to keep her safe and warm

"They made me kill hundreds of people…" he held onto her tightly and she rested her head on his chest.

"You don't have to say anything else…" he said as he brushed her hair with his hand.

"I can see them when I close my eyes…" she said in a low whisper bringing one of her hands up to loosely hold onto him.

"You want to know something?"

She nodded.

"When I close my eyes, I see the people I failed too," he tightened his hold on her, needing her as much as she did him, "This facility of yours, you said they made you kill all those people," he reiterated her words.

She nodded.

"It's not your fault then," he stated though she refused to listen to him.

"It was me who killed them," she guiltily said.

"You didn't have a choice."

"Doesn't change the fact that I am a killer," she snuggled her head deeper into him.

She fought him as he pulled her away, wanting to bury herself in him but she gave in, and she began straddling over his damaged legs once more, dejectedly staring at the wound she had inflicted instead of his welcoming and warm eyes, "I know killers Laura, and I can tell you that you aren't one of them. Killers are people who can take someone else's life without a hint of regret, you're not that."

"Then what am I?" she said as she finally looked at him with a soul-searching gaze, pleading for him to tell her what she was.

"That's up for you to decide, but I can tell you that from what I have seen, you're a girl who goes out of her way to help others. You care about others, it's why you helped me yesterday – it's why you're helping me now. You may be blunt, and snarky, and aggressive…very aggressive-" she narrowed her eyes weakly as he started listing off her traits, "But, you're also a very beautiful- extraordinarily beautiful, smart, intelligent, and while you may not believe it: kind, 'cause only someone kind would lament over the wrongs they were forced to commit," Peter stated passionately which had the effect of speeding up her heart as she internalized all he thought about her.

"But more importantly, you're a girl who is trying to do the right thing and that's more than anyone could ask of you," he wiped away some of her tears which didn't help with her heart problem. "The people at the facility must've done a horrible job 'cause I don't see a weapon in front of me, I see a hero," he stated firmly with a soft smile as he looked directly into her eyes.

"And if you're planning on dismissing this by telling me some other wrongdoing you were forced to commit then save it. You aren't changing my mind. It's been set since the moment I met you," he said with belief that would never be changed.

She let out a small laugh at that.

As he was bringing his hand back to his side after wiping her cheek she stopped it, keeping it planters on her face and grasping it with her own hand which refused to let go.

"Do you really think that I can be a hero?" she anxiously asked, looking deep into his azure eyes.

"Have you been listening to what I've been saying this entire time? You already are one," he said with a big smile which caused her to smile too, "Anyone can be a hero, Laura, All it takes is just a little courage to do what's right. And luckily for you, you've got the baggage to be a good one too," he added with a small laugh which amused her.

"This isn't a time for jokes," she said with poorly masked amusement.

They brought their hands down, and Peter got up onto his knees, mirroring the girl who retained her hold on his hand and captured the other with her free one.

They looked at each other fondly.

"Who said I was joking? Everyone has pain Laura, but what makes us heroes – what makes us better, is that instead of letting it crush us or use it as an excuse to hurt others, we choose to learn from it and define it – instead of letting it define us. When I lost my Uncle Ben Laura, I learned the responsibility that comes with my powers. I learned that I can't just sit on the sidelines and wait for someone else to deal with a problem no matter how big or how small it is," he said with all his heart, "Gwen's death though… it was senseless and that's what hurt the most about it, but it doesn't hurt as much anymore because last night I gave her death meaning by promising to become a better hero, a better Spider-Man…I guess it's why I got these new developments, to help me with that," he said with a small smile that exposed his fangs.

She listened carefully to every word he said.

"You've already learned from your pain Laura, it's why I can tell that you don't want to hurt anyone anymore," he said, voicing out his read on the girl who was surprised as to how accurate it was, "Now it's your time to choose how you can define that pain of yours," he told her, showing her the next step.

She held his hands tightly as she thought about his words.

"They made me because they wanted a weapon – a weapon to hurt people, to kill people. I do not want to be what they made me to be…" she voiced her thoughts – dreams, her heart, "...But I do not know how to do that," she disclosed which prompted Peter to chuckle.

"I think you do, but if you need me to spell it out for you then by simply doing what's right shows that you aren't what they made you to be," he stated with confidence though Laura looked the side.

"Sometimes I do not know what that is…"

"Same here, but do you know what helps me?" Peter grabbed her attention by briefly squeezing her hands which took her gaze off the floor and back onto him.

"What?" Laura asked as she searched his eyes.

"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility," he reiterated his sacred tenant, his core creed, the dogma he lived by.

"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility," she reiterated, carving that sentence into her mind, taking up Peter's creed and joining him.

"My Uncle used to say it to me all the time, I never really understood what it meant until he died. Ever since then Laura, I've been trying my best to live by those words every single day of my life. I know it's corny and not really specific but…" he was trailing off and looking away from her but she squeezed his hands tightly this time, bringing his attention back to her.

"I think it is perfect," she said with a smile, gazing at the boy with extreme fondness – with extreme tenderness.

She thought about those words and held onto his hands tightly.

"...I want to help, Peter," she stated, speaking from her heart which had opened its gates widely to the brunette boy whose presence warmed her.

Peter smiled at the girl he had a penchant for.

"Then get back up Snikity-Snikt 'cause the Connors still need us and I can't do this without you," he encouraged her, uplifting her both mentally and physically as he gently brought her onto her feet.

They still retained their hold on one another, neither of them wanting to let go.

"I told you to not call me that," she reminded him, trying to keep her voice stoic but miserably failing to hide the incredible amounts of favor she had for the boy.

"What are you going to do about it Snikity-Snikt?" he teasingly challenged her, bringing his face close to hers and giving her a mischievous smile.

She hesitantly – reluctantly let go of him, trying her best to threaten him with her claws but he wasn't phased at all when they appeared a great distance away from his face, In fact, he merely pushed them gently back with his fingers.

"I know you're not gonna hurt me," he said with a grin he flashed to the girl he was quickly doting on.

She let out a huff in response to the boy she endeared.

"No…" she softly said, looking at him sincerely as she said this.

She would never hurt him.

"...I'll tear up your mask though," she said, trying her best to sound threatening.

"I know you won't do that either," though Peter didn't buy it, clearly amused by her empty threats.

She sheathed her claws and let out a breath, "No, I would not do that either," she said with a small smile.

"At least…not at this moment," she said with a playful smirk which he reciprocated.

"Well, you can tear it up all you want later when we're done saving the day," he said with a laugh, putting on his mask which hid her for a brief moment.

She gave him a heartfelt gaze during this.

"What are we going to do? It beat us," Laura stated as defeat was foreign to her.

"We do what heroes always do: get back up, and never give up. Johnny taught me that," he said with a smile. "We still have two more cures thanks to you, meaning we can still cure Connors, and last time I checked, it only beat us with a stupid gimmick," Peter with infectious self-assurance she was falling victim to.

"How are we going to administer the cure if it can't drink it?" she inquired, wondering how he would solve their predicament.

"We find another way," he simply said as they walked out the alleyway coming up with a plan.

"You said your claws were made out of adamantium?" Peter recalled the very important detail that her claws were coated with the strongest metal known to man.

"Yes."

"Explains why it can cut through the Lizard's skin like butter. If Lizzy won't drink the cure then we'll force it through him another way, and we'll use your claws to do it," he said with a smirk, coming to the conclusion as to what to do.

"How?" she asked, wondering what his plan was.

"We administer the cure through a syringe. Now I know you might be thinking: a syringe can't break through its hide but that's where your claws come into play. Just like last time we're gonna tire it but this time you'll administer the cure through a deep wound courtesy of your adamantium claws," Peter laid out his plan which impressed the girl.

She was impressed by it.

"Not a bad plan… Spider-Man," she said as they entered the Connors house.

"Of course, it's not bad, I came up with it," he scrambled towards the lab to grab the remaining cures, quickly rushing back down with one he was in the process of stuffing into his belt.

"Only one?" There should've been two.

"We'll only need one," he confidently declared, and whilst she found it foolhardy to not take the third one, a part of her agreed with him.

"You have its scent?" Peter asked as they walked out of the house.

"Yes," she said, knowing full well where to guide them.

"Good, let's go," Peter eagerly ran off in the direction it left, leaving a confused Laura behind him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him as she watched him run off.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm going after the Lizard," he said as if it was obvious, however she merely shook her head and made her move towards the car that was parked in front of the Connors family household.

"What are you doing?" He walked up behind her curious as to why she just busted the window and entered the random vehicle.

"Going after the Lizard," she stated as she started hotwiring the car.

"By stealing their car?" he exclaimed to her in disbelief.

"It will get us there in time. Now get in, before I make you get in," she demanded in a voice that left no room for argument.

He looked at her not really knowing if he should enter the car or not.

"Do not make me repeat myself," she said as she watched him just stand there completely dumbfounded.

He submitted to her will and entered the passenger seat with a sigh.

"I feel like a criminal," he grumbled.

"Vigilantism is indeed a crime, so that does make you a-"

"Oh will you just get on with driv-AH!" she immediately floored the gas making him shut up immediately and look at her as if she was crazy.

She merely smirked.

She was crazy.

Chapter 8: Come Fly with Me

"Where did you learn to drive!?" Peter screamed from the passenger seat, peering past his shoulder and looking at through the ginormous empty space where his car door should've been.

"The facility," she responded, making a sharp turn to the right which caused Peter to use the handle at the top to stop himself from falling on her.

"They did an awful job at that too! If Connors doesn't kill them – which he won't, then the costs for repairs will!" He yelled, glaring at the bullet holes that were in the back window.

"You are overexaggerating," she flatly said as she continued to follow the scent.

"The police were after us!"

"We lost them."

"The police were after us!" he reiterated.

"Do you want to drive?" she irritably responded.

"I can't," he responded.

"Then be quiet, we are almost there."

As Laura attempted to run a red light, a truck that was crossing suddenly appeared and she made a hard turn to the left so as to not collide with it.

The whole entire time his spider-sense was going off.

"I'm gonna die," he said, sinking into his chair and resigning his inevitable death.

"No you won't, I won't let you," she said confidently as she started driving on the wrong side of the road. There was no way in hell that he was going to die after what they had just gone through together, it wouldn't matter if The Lizard would suddenly have another mutation or if the sky were to fall.

She would not allow him to die.

---

She kept her word as they safely made it to the Central Park Zoo in one piece.

"The zoo?" Peter observed the surroundings he knew too well.

"Of course, it's the zoo, Why wouldn't it be the zoo?" he said out loud as he exited the stolen, damaged, and almost inoperable vehicle they used.

"You did tell your aunt that we would come here to see giant alligators," she amusingly responded, searching for the family's scent.

Peter chuckled, "'Least I won't be lying, I hate having to do that to her," he sighed before asking Laura if she had The Connors family scent.

She nodded.

They were alive and unharmed which Laura could tell due to the absence of blood in their scent which relieved Peter. They would get the family out first before curing the quintessential member of said family just as they promised.

They entered the park with caution.

"I've never seen this place so quiet," Peter said as he took in the silence. Only the sound of the animals inhabiting the place could be heard and he wasn't gonna lie, it was quite nice.

"I have never been here before," Laura said as she looked at the pool in the middle of the park where the smell of sea lions remained.

Peter looked at her with disbelief, "Really?"

"The majority of my time spent has been running from the facility, and for the months I have spent here in New York, it was as a forced prostitute," she admitted with zero emotion in her voice as she followed the family's trial.

Peter looked at her with a sympathetic gaze.

"Is the facility still after you?" Peter asked, wanting – hoping that the answer would be a 'no.'

"They will always be after me," it wasn't and his blood went hot.

He clenched his fists and stared at the girl who was forever haunted by those who experimented on her, tortured her – who would relentlessly chase after her and he let out a sigh.

He gave a glance at her.

"Well, they'll be after us now," he declared which caused her heart to skip a beat and her to instantly whip her head his way.

"You do not know how dangerous they are," She hastily tried to deter him from such a thought – from their harm, but his mind had been made up.

"Doesn't matter, if they want you, then they'll have to go through me and besides Laura, after everything I've told you, you think I'd turn a blind eye to you and your problem?" he rhetorically asked the girl he jumped in the way to protect. He cared about her – and even if he didn't, Laura knew that he would still involve himself with her affair.

She looked away feeling the corners of her mouth uplift into the warm curl,"...No, no you wouldn't, but they'll become your enemies," She fruitlessly tried to dissuade him but all she did was make him laugh.

"Do you know who you're talking to? I'm just about enemies with practically every evil organization and person on the planet. Adding this facility of yours to the mix is like adding chocolate sprinkles to a triple chocolate fudge cake!" Peter amusingly declared, forgetting that they were hunting a giant reptile who had enhanced senses, "Besides, if anyone's making enemies here it's you – being seen with me. I am the dashingly handsome superhero here," Peter pointed out as he struck a stupid pose that showed off his body.

She thought about that sentence.

"Am I wrong?" Peter asked with a raised brow.

She let out a huff, and lightly shook her head, "No, you are correct"

"On the enemies part or the dashingly-handsome-superhero part?" He asked once more with a grin spurred on from overconfidence which deserved to be knocked down.

"Both," Laura simply declared, giving him a small smile that shattered his confident behavior and caused him to look around the park in an attempt to ignore the burning sensation she had inflicted him with.

"You um…you said you've never been here before right?" he asked her, looking where the sea lions would be.

"Yes," she simply replied.

"H-How about I take you sometime…you know? When we're not hunting a giant mutated lizard?" Peter nervously asked out of the blue and hastily which he quickly rectified, "Y-you don't have to answer right now, in fact, you don't have to answ-"

"-No," she simply answered.

"Oh…" he simply said as he put his hand on his face, incredibly embarrassed and disheartened…

"I will answer now," she added, causing him to look at her surprised as he was anticipating her answer.

"I would like to go to the zoo with you," she stated, expressing the delight he brought her as she looked at him.

Everything in his body stopped at that moment.

He blinked multiple times.

Did she just say yes?

"When we're not hunting a giant mutated lizard," she added, noticing his odd behavior.

He let out a cough to excuse himself, "Y-yea…of course," he said as he still couldn't comprehend what just happened but he wouldn't question it.

"W-where is it anyways," he asked, shoving all his thoughts to the back of his mind and focusing on the task at hand.

"In there," she said as she looked at the entrance to the tropical zone.

"Again, I am not surprised…" Lizards were cold-blooded creatures so they relied on getting their warmth from external sources, and the tropical zone just so happened to have an artificial heating source to replicate that of a natural environment for the reptiles they housed inside it.

They were greeted with the sound of an artificial waterfall alongside the croaks from frogs and the chirping of birds….

"Spider-Man will save us! Spider-Man will save us!"

Laura instantly withdrew her claws upon hearing the high-pitched scream and Peter let out a shriek, utterly startled by the abrupt sound that his Spider-Sense hadn't warned him about. They both looked in the direction those words came from only to stare deadpanned as they were greeted with the sight of a colorful bird.

"Stupid parrot," Peter mumbled as Laura sheathed her claws, agreeing with that statement.

They walked through a dark hallway that was only illuminated by the displays that were in it. The animals were all rattled, and the bats that were inside their display were all screeching as they flew around in circles – a clear sign that they too were startled just like the rest.

He went to give them some light using his spider-signal but she stopped him.

"Don't, it will alert it to our presence. Use your spider-sense, I can see perfectly well in the dark," she informed as there was no need for his signal which was designed after his face.

He nodded.

They made it to the rainforest and Laura looked around the enormous room full of animal and plant life. Her sinuses had warned her that The Lizard was near as a light tingle from his spider-sense did the same for Peter. The room was dark, only briefly illuminated by the moon that shone through the glass ceiling.

It was eerily quiet, the only thing they could hear was the sound of water crashing into itself.

Peter followed closely behind Laura as they traversed down the wooden pathway. The scent guided her to look past the edge and down towards a small river that was below them.

The river led into a small cave, and inside that cave was where the Connors family were.

She gave a glance towards Peter and he nodded silently.

They silently made their way down into the river and cautiously made their way into the darkened cave. Now in the pitch darkness, Peter let his spider-sense guide him, being able to decipher that Laura's distinct form was still next to him and two people huddled up within the corner of a cave.

Laura could see the frightful expression on their faces as they tried their best to keep quiet upon hearing the sound of movement in the water.

"Curt?" Martha frighteningly whispered.

"Yes, honey?" Peter jokingly responded as he tried putting on a deep voice.

"Spider-" Billy tried to say in an excited voice but Martha had stopped him by putting a hand over his mouth.

"Spider-Man," Martha said in a relieved whisper, "and Claw-Girl," Peter added, causing Laura to give him a deadpanned look.

"Where's Curt?" she asked him worryingly.

"I don't know, probably shopping in a re-tail store," Both the hero and the little boy chuckled at his joke.

He didn't have to see Laura to feel her face shape into an unamused flat expression with his spider-sense and the stare she was giving him.

"What? That was a good one," he defended though the girl wouldn't be convinced, and with a single alteration of her look, he went back to recognizing that they were in a serious situation which was further perpetrated by the fact that just like the sewers yesterday, the area was rich with the Lizards scent so it was hard to track it.

"Look, Mrs. Connors, I wouldn't worry about your husband. Right now, we need to get you to safety first before any of you get hurt," Peter said, assisting the woman with getting up and getting sure footing.

Laura stood in front, leading the family while Peter stayed behind, guarding their backs. His spider-sense was going off softly – it was watching them, but where?

They had exited the cave with it still being unnervingly quiet, but there was at least light from the moon which made things visible at least.

He noticed Laura's sniffing was becoming frantically faster.

She had picked up its scent the moment they had exited the cave.

It was fresh as if it had exited the cave while they were still in it.

It wasn't as if.

It did.

Peter's spider-sense went crazy as the trees started rattling and the birds hastily flapped their wings – abandoning their homes to avoid the incoming danger. The Connors family had to hold in their panic as they were quickly overwhelmed by the sounds of things escalating without warning.

They could hear something jumping around the trees.

"Claw-Girl! Get them to safety!" Peter ordered, bracing himself for a fight, she tried to refute but he quickly interjected, "Don't worry about me, they are the number one priority," he stated as he looked around.

Hastily running towards an employee-only walkway after grabbing the hand of the mother who carried her child. This sparked a reaction from The Lizard who leaped to give chase but Peter intercepted it by punching it square in the face, sending it back to where it came from.

"Alright, Doctor Connors, I'd like to prematurely say 'I'm sorry,'" Peter said as the creature he batted away slowly got up from his blow, "'Cause this is gonna hurt," he finished as he clenched his fists.

---

Laura was running down a narrow hallway leading the Connors family to safety as fast as she could so she could return and assist the injured Peter who was left alone to battle a monster who dwarfed even him.

"Will he be okay?" Billy worryingly asked in his mother's arms.

"Yes, he can take care of himself," Laura stated, trusting the boy to survive until she could help.

Peter came crashing through the wall right in front of them.

"Oh, man…It did hurt…" he said from his comfortable crater in the wall.

She abruptly stopped running alongside the Connors and stared at him as he immediately got back up to grab the Lizard who had aimed to leap on him and proceeded to slam it into the ground before throwing it back out of the hole they had created. He looked at the three who were staring at him and simply gave them an 'okay' gesture before jumping into the fray once again.

Peter's throw had the Lizard slam its back on one of the many towering tropical trees that were in the room. It latched onto one and with its might, tore the upper half off and used it as a weapon to swing at Peter who dodged the attack and ran on the tree before hitting The Lizard's face hard, sending its scaly eight-foot figure off of the tree it was latched onto and down into the ground.

"You know, you'd be a real danger if you had a brain," Peter quipped from The Lizard's previous spot before running down it and towards the Lizard. It roared angrily and aimed to lunge at Peter once again but he prepared for this and like a bullet from a gun, he propelled himself off of the tree and hit it once again – harder this time.

On impact, The Lizard was sent back down to the ground viciously but it wouldn't accept defeat and landed on its feet with a loud 'thoom.'

As this was happening, Peter landed on his hands and launched himself off the ground and onto another tree, and bounced off of that and back into the Lizard and punched it square in the face, causing it to viciously stagger back. He continued his assault, bouncing off the trees and using his insane speed and strength to continue to stagger the Lizard with his maximum assault.

Each hit grew louder and louder with him getting more confident that it could take more and more of his strength.

The Lizard clenched its fists and let out a roar angrier than it ever had before and took one of Peter's hits, ending his assault and starting its own. It went to hit him and he dogged it so it went to swipe him with its talons and it just barely grazed him, scratching his uniform. Its pace started getting faster and faster and Peter struggled to keep up despite his own speed and processing power.

It speedily went to punch him with all its might but Peter weaved and was glad he did as when that punch collided with one of the enormous thick trees it instantly demolished it.

Peter managed to get a hit on it and stagger it once more and proceeded to repeat his previous assault but the Lizard grew tired and caught one of his hits before coming to the conclusion that it was best to take Peter out of this environment.

So it simply threw him through the glass ceiling.

Laura was guiding the family out of the park when she heard the silence-piercing sound of glass shattering. She looked on with a blank expression as Peter's body soared high into the air like a shooting star before crashing back down to the ground right in front of them.

He groaned over the large crack he created with his impact.

She looked at him with a blank expression as he struggled to turn his head to face her.

"Don't let this fool you, I was actually winning," He said from the ground, the bandages she had placed on him earlier going completely red, showing her the real pain that he hid from her.

She snapped her head towards the building to bear witness to the sight of The Lizard who let out an ear-piercing roar that would echo throughout all of New York.

She let out a growl before unsheathing her own claws.

"That's it!" she angrily yelled as she saw the Lizard leap high into the air after them.

She wouldn't play the babysitter any longer.

If her mission was to get them to safety then she'd do that by getting rid of The Lizard.

It landed and shook the ground beneath them, scaring the Connors family but she wasn't daunted – she was angry.

She ran towards it and waited for it to attack her before dodging it and countering with an attack of her own. With each hit it tried landing on her, she retaliated with deep gashes on important muscle groups which would weaken it. With each counter-attack, her approach would slowly morph into one of complete decimation that The Lizard couldn't keep up with but either through adrenaline or more mutations, with each gash she created – two more healed, forcing her to revert to her previous approach.

But like with Peter's encounter, she found herself struggling to dodge its attacks as they started to barely graze her.

She let out an angry snarl as it tried sweeping her with its tail but she decapitated it, alongside the right hand that it tried to follow up on but she was open to a hit from its left hand that sent her tumbling.

It stomped on the ground, cracking it before launching at her fallen body, its fist pulled back as it aimed to destroy her but a red and blue blur prevented that.

Peter's fist collided with the Lizards, creating a loud "boom," that beings made out of pure physical power could only make.

"The kiddie gloves are off!" Peter yelled as he overpowered The Lizard.

It shrieked in pain as the force from his hit traveled throughout its body, enabling a new assault from Peter as Laura proceeded to get up, impressed by the equal feat he pulled to protect her but that was quickly put aside as she noticed how its tail wasn't regenerating and how its arm was at an increased rate.

It was learning how to prioritize certain spots with its healing factor…

…she didn't even have that much control over hers.

It was time to end this before it could continue to learn more.

As Peter was barraging the Lizard, he was caught off guard by how fast its arm had regenerated and had to halt his advances in order to dodge an attack from it. An angry yell from Laura would put the odds in his favor though as he backflipped over the girl who flung herself like a missile at The Lizard. Digging her claws deep into its chest, she pushed herself off it, doing a flip and using one of her foot claws to send a gash from its neck up to the tip of its chin. Peter came up from under her and uppercutted it, widening the gash and causing it to scream in pain. He continued his attack by planting his feet on its chest before jumping and kneeing its chin; he followed this up by turning his simple knee into a flip kick that sent its head soaring up into a powerful overhead slam that brought it back down. He launched himself off the Lizard, pushing it towards Laura who slit its throat before going underneath its arm and slicing deep into its armpit leaving its arm dangling, before severing the still healing tail again.

It turned around, hell-bent on striking her in her open position but there was a funny thing when you work in two's.

You had someone watching your back.

As it turned around it was met with a fist from Peter whose force made the two-deep gashes in its neck even bigger. Continuing their tag-team assault, Laura used Peter's hunched-over body as a platform to jump off and over the Lizard with a front flip that allowed her to use her claws to land a pinpoint strike in between its upper vertebrae.

Temporarily paralyzing it

Peter was impressed by this.

He took advantage of this greatly, channeling as much as he possibly could and sending the packaged punch right into its face, sending the eight-foot creature tumbling away.

The two teens stood beside each other as they saw The Lizard slowly get up, its body battered and beaten but still regenerating at a fast rate despite all the blows it had taken. It wouldn't matter though, the concussive force that Peter had dealt to it was enough to tire it physically, all that was left was to bleed it dry.

It was the final hour, Peter could already hear the fat lady start to sing.

The Lizard knew that too as it stared at them, too damaged to run, and literally an animal backed into a corner, the only thing it could do was fight.

The Lizard roared, giving the two its last stand.

Peter and Laura took a glance at each other, "You ready?" he asked her.

She smirked, "Let's end this!" she yelled, charging at the Lizard with Peter in toe.

All three of them let out a yell as they charged at each other.

The Lizard prioritized Laura for she was the closest but she effortlessly dodged its slow attack and chose to slide underneath its legs and slice open the back of them as Peter striked it causing the foe to take steps back. It tried to fight back but with the two working together seamlessly it was outclassed, outsmarted – outmatched.

Every time it tried hitting one, the other would strike, however, it still stood its ground, its regenerative capabilities allowing it to do so. Which worked in their favor as they didn't want Doctor Connors to suffer permanent damage if they were to cure him.

After most of its wounds had healed, Peter and Laura stood on opposite ends from the mutated reptile and she gave him a glace.

He took out his stingers.

"Try and keep up," he cockily taunted.

The both of them slashed both sides of The Lizard effortlessly exchanging sides at the same time, though Laura was a hair faster.

"Like I said, 'I'm faster,'" she declared, Peter's cocky behavior igniting her own.

"And like I said, 'Let's test that!" he eagerly exclaimed as they attacked The Lizard again.

They danced around him in a flurry of red, blue, and black, the both of them trying to one-up another by picking up speed only to find that the other could go faster. To the human eye, they were nothing but blurs that left splatters of blood in their wake, going so fast and creating so many wounds that the Lizard's healing factor couldn't keep up with them.

They had smirks on their faces as the Lizard shrieked in pain, unable to match them as they worked in complete synchronization. Littered with wounds that didn't run deep but overwhelmed its healing factor to the point that it was significantly slower, Laura broke the pattern and decided to initiate the finishing move.

Peter continued to blitz it as she let out a yell as she dug her claws deep into its upper right trap down its lower left hip. She repeated the process by circling around it starting again from its upper left trap and down to its lower hip, leaving a nicely shaped 'x' right in the middle of its chest – over its heart.

Peter pushed himself off The Lizard and landed right in front of it before striking the sweet spot Laura had created, sending it flying with its wounds deepening and ribs shattering.

The Lizard tried its hardest to get back up but all it could muster was to get on its knees – now no longer able to fight, much less stand.

Peter pulled out the syringe from his side and offered a hand to Laura who took it without a second's worth of hesitation.

"Let's finish this dance for real this time with a power move," he eagerly stated, offering a hand to the girl who avidly took it.

"I'd like to call this one: The fastball special!" He yelled, hurling Laura at The Lizard with all his might.

The Lizard could only watch in complete and utter despair as he flung her at the speed of a bullet, aimed right towards the 'x' that was on its chest, and in an instant – less than a second after she was thrown, her claws had pierced the makeshift target and forced The Lizard to get propelled off its knees and dragged on its bag by the sheer force of the attack.

"Bullseye," Peter said proudly.

As they stopped moving, Laura immediately stabbed the syringe right in the middle of the 'X' she had made, injecting it right into its heart which pumped the serum throughout its being.

She got off of it and stepped back as the cure slowly made its way through its system. She breathed heavily, heart pounding and energized by the high of the fight which was beginning to wear off with the decrease of adrenaline.

Peter found his place beside her, watching on with the same anticipation she had as The Lizard's body reacted to their concoction. The Lizard let out shrieks as its skin started peeling off of it. It struggled, it wailed, it roared, trying to get back up as its form began shrinking, its tail slowly rotting away, eventually falling off its body it became more and more human.

In a matter of seconds The Lizard was gone and in its place was a blonde-haired Caucasian man who looked at himself with disbelief and relief.

He was also naked.

He looked at the two heroes, instantly recognizing the situation as he recognized Spider-Man but before he could ask who Laura was the sound of the footsteps that belonged to his family caught his attention.

"Curt!" Martha yelled with joy as she ran towards her husband "Dad!" Billy followed suit, entrapping his father in a suffocating hug in tandem with his mother.

Peter and Laura looked at the scene with fond eyes as the family was reunited with each other. The boy would grow up with both his father and his mother in his life, and though Laura couldn't help but feel the bittersweet sensation of never experiencing it, she felt glad that she could prevent that sensation from ever happening to the boy named Billy.

And when she saw the doctor cry tears of joy as he held his family within his arms, she could feel cracks begin to heal…

Dr. Connors held his family tightly with both his arms.

Laura looked at Peter with confusion. If what Mrs. Connors had told them was true then Dr. Connors should only have one of his arms, and yet, he had two now…

"You did something so that he could have his arm back," Laura stated softly so that only he could hear her words.

"Well, let's just say the cleanser kinda cleanses ninety-nine-point-nine percent of Lizard cells, keeping just enough so that he can retain his arm so that the cells in it can be replaced by human ones," Peter casually explained which caused the girl to curl her lips.

"You didn't have to do that," Laura fondly stated.

"I didn't, but he dedicated all his life to getting his arm back, I just thought he deserved it after everything he's been through. It's like I said earlier, Laura, we don't just save people. We help them too 'cause that's what heroes do," Peter said sincerely with a smile.

"And we are heroes," Laura finished as she looked at him with adoration.

He let out a breath at that.

"Yes, we are Claw-Girl. Now c'mon, we're done here," he gently said as he proceeded to leave the scene.

She nodded and followed suit, smiling in the process as a warm feeling found its way around her body.

This was how it felt to do good…

…it felt…

…It felt good.

It felt right.

"Wait!" Curt yelled as he saw the two figures retreating into the shadows. The two teens turned around to see him stumbling towards them, his naked body covered by Martha's long jacket.

"Thank you…Thank you so much," he said with pure gratitude, looking at the two with eyes full of light, appreciation, and recognition of all they had done.

Peter let out a quiet chuckle before crossing his arms confidently.

"It's nothing, just…all in a day's work Doctor Connors," Peter humbly said, relishing speaking those words once again.

"Well it means everything to us Spider-Man, we'll – I'll never forget this," he gratefully said to him before turning to Laura, "The both of you, Thank you…" he bowed his head to the girl who did the same.

"...all in a day's work," she reiterated before turning away with Peter.

"Before you go, I just want to ask one thing," Curt asked, causing the heroes to turn back. "Who are you? I want to be able to remember the hero who helped save my family's life and my own as well," he passionately asked, surprising her.

She looked at him for a moment and then back to Peter who simply crossed his arms.

She didn't need to see his face to see the smile he had.

She pondered about what her name should be.

The Facility had created her to kill, and they had enhanced her claws to do so.

But her claws – her talons, were the reason why The Doctor was cured…

She smiled at Peter giving him a nod before turning to the people she saved.

"Talon. My name is Talon," she stated confidently.

"Thank you for saving my family, Talon," he warmly said to the girl.

Peter nudged her with his shoulder as she simply nodded at the Doctor.

She liked this.

"Talon, huh?" He said her name in his mouth, feeling how it sounded before chuckling, "I like it."

She liked this a lot.

"What are we going to do about the Kingpin Curt?" Martha worryingly asked.

"I wouldn't worry about that, he's next on my list," Peter said as he reassured the family. " I just need to figure out who he is…" he muttered which prompted Curt to speak up but Laura's voice silenced his

"I know who he is, and I know where he is," Laura stated to the shock of everyone around her, "I won't let him hurt you," she reaffirmed Peters's words, calming the family down.

Before he could even ask her who The Kingpin was, Peters's attention was pulled to the sound of sirens which caused everyone to perk up

"We lost them," Peter said as he mocked Laura's voice.

The family looked at them confused for a moment.

"We kinda stole your car to come to your rescue," Peter said nervously, causing the family to laugh, "It's okay," Curt responded. "We uh, we also broke a lot of laws while driving it…and it's kinda damaged," he added.

They raised an eyebrow at him as Billy let out an innocent chuckle.

"Our car was destroyed yesterday," Martha said to the two heroes.

Peter was left dumbfounded for a moment.

"Oh...you wouldn't happen to have two cars would you?" he hopefully asked.

"No," she responded.

All of them, with the exception of Laura, just stared blankly as they realized they hadn't taken the Connors family car.

They could hear the sound of police cars opening and closing in the distance.

"And that's our cue to leave," Peter said to Laura as he turned to make a run for it.

She rolled her eyes and followed suit.

The family let out a laugh as they looked at the two with smiles and gratitude plastered all over their faces.

"Go Spider-Man and Talon!" Billy yelled gleefully as he watched the two heroes disappear into the dark. They looked at each other and smiled at that.

Spider-Man and Talon.

They liked that.

---

"Wilson Fisk is the Kingpin?" Peter asked, gazing at the tower in the distance.

"Yes," Laura answered, eyes narrowed at the highest floor where she knew the man was sitting, "He hired the facility to kill for him once – they used me," He averted her eyes from the tower and looked on at the boy who she knew wouldn't judge her.

"Maybe it's best if you stay here while I go and introduce myself," Peter recommended to the girl who still believed his plan to be borderline suicidal.

"I still do not like your idea," she staunchly affirmed the belief that just waltzing in his tower – in his current state, was beyond foolhardy.

"Don't worry, I can take on a fat guy even in the worst of conditions," He boasted as if Wilson Fisk was the only threat in his tower, "He doesn't have any superpowers, right?" Peter instantly questioned the girl, just wanting confirmation that he was dealing with an overweight man and not a superpowered overweight man.

Laura shook her head.

"I'll be back," Peter told her, turning his back to make his entrance but the girl still refused to let him go, and made an attempt to keep him on the rooftop they were situated on. Initially, she went to grab his hand but stopped herself, The sudden burst of movement though was all that was needed to stop his advance and cause him to turn around, looking at the girl questioningly as Laura tried to form the words she was going to say.

He looked at her questioningly as she formed the words she was going to say.

"Don't…don't do anything stupid," she pleaded for him to do, wanting him to return once it was all over.

"I'll try, just for you," He comforted the girl before leaping away.

Grandiose and lavish doors were blown completely off their hinges as the men who guarded it violently came crashing into the room, making way for the superhero who walked into the large office which contained items and furniture that displayed inconceivable wealth.

"I got an appointment to see a Mr. Fisk. I checked in with the secretary but for some reason, she called security on me," Spider-Man said with mock ignorance, walking on the clean white marble floor while never breaking eye contact with the hazel ones who were unthreatened or phased by his abrupt appearance.

"I can only imagine why," The man in the white suit remarked in his deep and stoic voice which reverberated throughout the room. His elbows rested on his table, hands clasped together in a sophisticated way that put up the front that he was a man who called for respect.

"Probably because I'm also here to meet The Kingpin of Crime," he spitefully added.

"I don't know what you're implying," He casually denied the accusation they both knew was correct.

"Let's take a step back here. We haven't been properly introduced, have we?" The web-glazed hero said as his casual demeanor quickly shifted into one of seriousness, "I'm the guy who's gonna stop your plans. You're going to leave the Connors family alone, and I'm gonna bring you to the nearest police station and-"

"-And what? arrest me?" he taunted the hero who stood across from his desk and let out an amused laugh.

"Yeah, I'm glad you already know what's going to happen – makes things a whole lot easier," Spider-man stated but the man merely leaned back in his chair, amused by the boy's thought process.

"Alright, let's say I allow you to do all of this, what are you going to arrest me for, boy?" He asked him with a smug and superior expression which only grew at his naïve answer.

"For…turning Doctor Connors into a giant lizard," Peter confidently answered which prompted the man who had plenty of width to chuckle.

"And how did I do that?" He asked the boy who answered that he sent men to the Connor's family home.

"And where are these 'men' you speak of?" Fisk rhetorically asked once again, prompting the boy to pause, "Oh wait, they're dead. Connors killed them – devoured them, what's left of those paltry men being intertwined with his waste," he sneered with his disgusting face folding into itself as he smiled.

"If anything, I should go to the police station right now and-" With one hand Peter flung Fisk's desk across the room, having it shatter into millions of pieces as it smashed into the wall.

"You're gonna do nothing to the Connors family," Peter hissed with the utmost hate which was reciprocated by the man who stood tall, dwarfing him with his size but contrary to the sight, the boy was a whole lot more powerful than the man.

"Or what? You're going to fight me?" he goaded the boy who unleashed his stingers at the man.

"I'll pop you like a balloon," He threatened through his teeth, reminding the man that it was not Spider-Man who should be standing his ground, but the suited man instead.

Fisk yielded, stepping away from the boy and turning to his windows which displayed all of New York before him, "I have all I need from Connors and his pathetic family," Fisk bitterly stated, eyeing the boy's reflection.

"Just because you're done with them doesn't mean I'm done with you," Spider-Man growled at the piece of filth before him, "You're coming with me," He demanded but the man remained in his spot.

"I am going nowhere," he casually rebuked, though the police sirens said otherwise, which the hero pointed out.

"You think they're coming for me?" He asked with sheer disbelief at Spider-Man's statement which amused him greatly, "They're here for you," Fisk informed, dumbfounding the hero.

"You must be delusional because last time I checked I'm not a criminal!" he argued back to the man who scoffed.

"You should check again boy because the records say I'm Wilson Fisk, multi-millionaire philanthropist, owner of Fisk Industries, and co-owner of Damage Control and you're a vigilante who hurt my men and threatened my life," he gestured to this shattered desk.

"I've got proof that says otherwise!" Peter yelled back, growing increasingly frustrated at Fisk's sly and confident answers which simmered his blood.

"And where is this proof? Is it the scientist who turned himself into a monster? Or the word of a masked vigilante who could be anyone?" He challenged the boy's empty threats, not at all feeling jeopardized.

Peter started to stutter which caused him to laugh.

"You've got nothing on me boy and if you don't want to hear it from me, hear it from him," Fisk pointed from behind Peter.

He turned around to see…

"Daredevil?" the young boy exclaimed, seeing the man who dressed in a Kevlar suit of deep reds and dark blacks appear from the shadows behind him, a stoic, almost disheartened and resigned look on his dirty scruffy face.

"Let him go Spider-Man," Daredevil said calmly, much to Spider-Man's confusion.

"But DD he's-"

"He's right," he flatly stated to Peter's surprise.

Fisk merely smirked at this.

"We can't just let him go unpunished," Peter yelled as the vigilante went to his side.

"We won't," Daredevil eyed the man while putting his hands on the young hero, "Mark my words, he'll be going to jail with the rest of them but not today, today he gets to enjoy his stolen spoils for however much longer he has," he hissed at the man who scoffed at him.

"We have to go," The older man was the first to make the steps out of the room which reeked of riches earned from the blood of others as the 'man' who caused mass suffering for his own gain dusted his suit, smiling at the victory he had over them.

"Next time we meet Spider-Man you're going to wish that you never came back. New York isn't your city anymore, just ask your friend here. I'm sure Mr. Murdock, would be glad to explain the whole situation to you," he said, taking great joy in his power, his influence, his victory – his knowledge as the two heroes heard his triumphant laugh echo through his halls.

---

There was an uncomfortable silence that was shared between the two who stood blocks away from the tower and the man who left Peter with so many questions that he couldn't even begin to talk less he stutter and spew incoherent sentences.

"It's…it's good to have you back, Spider-Man," the older man spoke up with a proud and gracious smile upon gazing at the boy who was typically worse for wear.

"...he…he knows who you are…how?" Peter asked, still taken aback by the revelation which was a tight secret.

If he knew that…what else did he know?

"That's…that's not important right now, what is, is you being here," He stated in a voice that was inflicted with relief that was plagued with over-encumbering exhaustion that was on full display. The man whose name was Matt Murdock was tired, his suit torn and dirtied as his smell reeked of sweat and blood that worried the boy who had never seen him be this desperate before.

"How…how bad is it?" he hesitantly asked however their conversation took an abrupt turn when the man sniffed the air and raised his signature multi-purpose clubs instantaneously.

Peter asked and Daredevil began to speak, however, he stopped as he sniffed something coming at a fast rate, instantaneously retrieving his signature multi-purpose billy clubs in response.

"What is it?" Peter asked, putting up his guard as well just as the man did but his answer would instantly drop it.

"Someone is coming our way, a girl…" he detected the scent which had a faint semblance of one he knew but couldn't pinpoint – leaving him perplexed, which was advanced by the boy's instant relaxation.

"Oh, she's with me," Peter gladly stated, causing the horned vigilante to holster his weapons in surprise at the fact that Spider-Man – the loner boy was working with someone for once.

Daredevil was left utterly dumbfounded, blown away, and caught off guard when the girl landed next to the boy, her scent being one he most definitely recognized – most definitely knew.

Laura did the same, staring at the blind vigilante with a surprised expression on her face as well.

She recognized his scent too.

She knew him…

"Daredevil, this over here is Talon. Talon, this is Daredevil, another one of my superhero friends," Peter introduced the two who stared at each other blankly.

"We've met before," Laura informed Peter, eyeing the lawyer with her emerald eyes.

"What?" Peter tilted his head in confusion.

"I thought Captain America arrested you?" Daredevil asked with sheer disbelief.

"What?" Peter asked once again.

"He let me go," Laura answered, putting a surprised expression on Daredevil's face which morphed into a smile.

"What?" Was someone going to explain what they were talking about? Captain America arrested Laura? And somehow she knew Daredevil? And what about Captain America, the sentinel of Liberty, the living legend, his childhood hero and idol arresting Laura?

"I was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. months ago, arrested for the killings I had committed while under the facility. He acted as Captain America's legal advisor when he captured and interrogated me," She gave Peter all the answers he needed while also confusing him further.

"Oh," Peter replied.

"What are you doing here?" Daredevil asked her with extreme interest, looking between both the girl and the boy he knew and cared about.

"Helping people, with him," she stated gently, looking at the boy who had done so much for others – for her.

The blind vigilante lifted his brow in complete surprise before completely registering what she said before huffing, "That's… good," he proudly stated watching on with a growing smile as she turned her attention to Peter.

"How did it go?" Laura asked, observing if he sustained any new injury.

Peter scowled, "Went as good as that Broadway musical of me," He bitterly spat but upon noticing that she did not get the reference, he told her – much to instant disbelief which quickly became frustration, that nothing happened, that they couldn't do anything, that the cops came for him.

"What?" She hissed in bafflement, turning her attention to the man who she knew was an expert lawyer and now a vigilante like Peter – who knew who Wilson Fisk really was.

Daredevil told her the same thing he told Peter and she scoffed.

"Just because we can't touch him now, doesn't mean we won't be letting him continue to walk. I've set up a meeting with DeWolff to deal with him," Daredevil let Peter in on his plan to take down the Kingpin.

"How'd ya do that? I thought she hated us," Peter asked, genuinely intrigued how he brought the commissioner he's only ever seen on TV bash him and the other superhumans who did her job for her.

"She doesn't, but she doesn't have a choice. Fisk has the mayor and the force all under his payroll alongside most of the crime in the city – if not the state, possibly the country," Daredevil informed the surprised Peter who doubted his words.

"Even the Maggia?" Peter asked as he knew Hammerhead wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Fisk has forced the Hammerheads to work with the Nefarias," Peter's eyes were practically bulging.

"Hammer Head and Madame Masque?"

"Unlikely allies," Daredevil said.

"What about Tombstone? I thought he was supposed to be 'The Bigman.' There's no way he'd let Fisk take control of his entire empire," Peter said as he recalled the pale man in a suit.

"Fisk has. He's turned Tombstone's entire drug operation into his own and has used most of his fronts as a means to smuggle in more than just drugs," Daredevil added, implying things that didn't please Peter.

Things which angered Laura.

"Fisk is smuggling illegal weapons from and into the country, alongside humans as well," He said bitterly and Peter could feel his blood boiling, Laura on the other hand was struggling to not make the tower before them covered in blood.

The only thing that stopped her was the red and blue hero that stood beside her right now.

"No way…" Peter uttered with disbelief.

"That's not it," Daredevil added, surprising Peter even more.

"Fisk is in business with a new organization that traffics superhumans. The number

of superhumans grows each day Spider-Man, people are starting to take notice," Daredevil said as he looked at the horizon," And more importantly, people want to capitalize. They want their hands on human beings who can lift tons with a finger, who can fire lasers out of their eyes, who can survive a nuclear bomb without even a scratch, or create cities with a flick of their finger. Fisk is working with these traffickers, in turn, they give hundreds of millions – even billions, of dollars to fund his campaign, which he perpetuates by buying up property and making it expensive, forcing others to turn to him – to a life of crime, He stated with the utmost disgust his voice could muster while the boy was caught completely off guard by the sheer scale and impact the man who he once stood in front of had.

A man he allowed to come into power.

"This…this is all my fault," If he hadn't left, if he was there to stop him, if he did, then none of this would be happening…

Laura's anger did not stop her from wondering how all of this was his fault. This sizable operation may have taken hold with his disappearance but she had more of a part to play in helping its rise than he did.

She killed people to help him rise.

All Peter was the gatekeeper whose absence allowed for it to quietly set in.

She aimed to tell him that – to absolve him, but Matt Murdock beat her to it.

"It's not, Fisk has been planning this for decades," Daredevil said adamantly in a vain attempt to console him.

"And I gave him the perfect opportunity to enact it!" Peter said as he was enraged with himself.

"You're back now, that's all that matters and with you now with us, we'll be able to burn his empire to ashes," Daredevil consoled, intriguing Peter.

"'We?'" he asked.

"Fisk has almost all of the super-criminal underworld – that's not in Rikers or the Raft, under his payroll. We can't beat him by ourselves, so I'm assembling a team that will meet with DeWolff on the nineteenth precinct tomorrow," a team…Peter didn't know how to feel – he didn't play well with people who weren't The Fantastic Four, and now Laura, but…

"Well…count me in. I know I'm not much of a team player but I'll do whatever it takes to take the Fatman down," Peter said with resolve, willing to compromise and change if it meant bringing the insurmountable foe down.

Daredevil smiled.

"Good, I'll send you the details later. Tomorrow we plan to take the city back. Until then, rest. We need you for this war. Fisk might not look like it but he's afraid of you, it's why he put a cease on all criminal activity the moment he heard of your arrival, it's why he only stepped out of the shadows when you left," Daredevil stated to Peter's confusion, not being able to see the reason which was as clear as day but not questioning it.

"With you on this team, I know we can take him down," Daredevil said with complete conviction, signaling the end of their conversation for now, but the man still needed to say something…

…to both of them.

"And Peter…I meant what I said, it's good to have you back. You're one of the few I trust now," the man without fear confessed to the promising boy whom he knew he could trust.

"I won't let you down DD," Peter promised the man who was a part of his superhero circle of people he trusted too.

"I know," Daredevil said with a smile before turning to the girl who observed the trust they had in each other silently.

"And you, I want to speak with you privately," he asked the girl, which didn't bother Peter, and upon looking at the girl who signaled that it was alright, he gave them their privacy where their voices wouldn't be able to be heard.

"So you're with him now," he asked Laura who nodded with a faint smile.

"Why?" The man who knew her history, who knew what had happened to her, what she had done and been through asked Laura who could answer his question with conviction, with pride, with everything in her body telling her that this was right.

"Because I want to help…because I can, meaning I have to," she repeated the core lesson she learned from him which prompted the man to soften his brow.

"You know who he is don't you?" Daredevil stated more so than he asked.

"And he knows who I am," she softly declared a sentence which comforted her heart.

Daredevil understood her words and let out a huff which grabbed her attention.

She could see him smiling proudly.

His approval, his smile – it made her glad.

"You know, if I was given custody to you all those months ago, I would have introduced you to him," Daredevil told her much to her surprise, "He's a good boy, and despite his jokey exterior and age, he's one of the best. Him being here after everything only cements that, but you already knew that didn't you," he said with a small smirk, knowing that the girl could see what he saw in the boy.

"Yes," she nodded, her time with the boy showing her how special he was.

"The both of you are good for each other," he added with a sly smile and chuckle which caused her pale face to turn a lighter shade of red.

Was he implying…

He laughed more at her poorly hidden reaction.

"I assume, I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then?" Daredevil lifted a brow, knowing that this would not be the last he saw of the girl.

"If he is there, then yes," and he assumed correctly.

"Until then…Talon," Daredevil bowed his head to the former weapon, now superhero before heading off to rest for the coming conflict.

Laura watched him leave before telling Peter who was clinging to the wall on the building that he could come back to her side.

"So what was that about?" he curiously asked Laura who answered him.

"He was glad to see me doing this. When I was getting interrogated by Captain America, he vouched for my goodness, like you did for me today," she stated with lips that softened at the sight of the boy.

"Well, we are good judges of character," he praised both himself and his horned friend.

He didn't really know where to go from here.

"This Kingpin talk has left a sour taste in my mouth," Peter said with disgust, scowling underneath his mask as Laura looked at him curiously, "I'll deal with him tomorrow but for the rest of the night, would you like to celebrate that we saved a family today?" Peter asked the girl who pondered his request.

"Yes, we should celebrate," she said softly. Though The Kingpin was still at large, they saved a family, they gave the young boy Billy a life which would include both of his parental guardians being there for him.

That alone was worth celebrating.

He was happy at her response.

"Do you wanna know how Spider-Man celebrates happy endings?" Peter excitedly asked the girl who wondered just what Peter Parker did after giving others their own happy ending.

"How?"

"With a good ole fashioned Neapolitan pizza from this pizza place in the Greenwich village," He stated which confused the girl who raised a brow.

"'Neapolitan pizza,'" She reiterated, unfamiliar with the term.

"Ever heard of it? It's like regular pizza but gourmet," he informed the girl who shook her head, still unfamiliar with the type of pizza.

That's right, most of her time being in New York was spent doing things he didn't want to think about.

"Ever had pizza before?" he asked the girl, hoping that she had at the very least had the iconic fast food everyone has had at some point in their life.

She shook her head again.

Peter's gaze on her faltered…

…there were probably many things in life she hadn't experienced.

"Come, they make the best pizza in all of New York. I'll even get a sixteen-inch pizza for us, it'll be my treat" he eagerly offered, extending his hand out to the girl who looked at it with shimmering eyes.

"Don't you only have twenty dollars?" she recalled the limited amount of money he had.

He embarrassingly chuckled, "Yeah… but I can make it work. I saved the owner's daughter once so I get a lifetime supply of free pizza. Any type I want, as much as I want, and anytime I want," he reiterated the owner's promise which has never taken him up on.

"'Best pizza in all of New York,'" she softly stated his words which he bolstered by saying that it was the best in the country.

She looked at the hand which asked her to join him.

The hand which belonged to a boy whom she had found companionship with, found trust, found solace….

…a boy who helped her find a way to be not what The Facility wanted…

…but what she wanted.

"I'd like to try it, Peter," she answered softly, putting her hand into his, interlacing her fingers in between the spaces and holding it tightly.

"I just want to know one thing: What type of food do you like?" Peter asked Laura, wanting to know what she liked – what she wanted, so he could get her a pizza that she would like with all her being.

"I like…spicy food," Laura answered, not used to expressing what she liked to others.

"Spicy food? I wouldn't have been able to guess that," Peter shrugged, surprised at her confession but excited to know what her taste suited.

"The food the facility served me was bland as it was meant for nutrition – only nutrition. That…that is why I like spicy food as it is full of flavor…and it is one of the few things that make me forget…" she confessed to the boy, her voice lowering as the memories flooded in again.

The more he heard about The Facility the more he wanted to find them – to fight them, to have them cast off the face of the earth, but he couldn't do that, not right now at least.

Right now, all he could do was comfort the girl who's a thousand-yard stare told him that she was reliving her horrible memories.

He grabbed her other hand to bring her back to the present.

She looked at him, surprised and caught off guard when he secured her other hand within his own.

"How about we get a diavola pizza then? It's full of spicy meat that I know you'll love," he exclaimed to the girl with his jovial voice which uplifted and flattered her spirits.

"I-I would like that," she confessed to the boy with an unabashed smile and cheeks which slowly grew more colorful as she gazed at his lenses.

She wished that he had his mask off so that she could look at his face.

"Great! We'll just head back to where our stuff is and I'll order it," Peter exclaimed, abruptly letting go of the girl who tried to hold on but was left disappointed at the bottom of her heart.

She nodded and followed his steps.

"First one there gets the first slice?" Peter asked the girl who stood beside him, the girl who was quickly getting acquainted with his competitive nature.

Who was finding herself amused by it.

"If you want the second slice you can just say it instead of making a pointless competition where you know I'd win," She intentionally stated, provoking the boy in a friendly manner who reciprocated it with a smirk.

"Oh, it's on," Peter said determinedly as he abruptly took the first step in their race.

---

He lost.

Laura sat quietly on a tall rooftop that was beside the small pizzeria, donning the pink shoulderless sweater she had worn earlier once again.

She gazed at the soft violet sky as she pondered about today's events. Her argument with Logan felt like ages ago. She had met the Fantastic Four who had greeted her warmly as if she were a part of their family – they had even included her in that family to an extent and she had met Daredevil – Matt Murdock, a man who she thought she would never see again.

She had saved a family today.

She felt good today.

She felt right today.

She felt like a person today.

She felt like a hero today.

And it was all because of a boy named Peter Parker.

In that moment as she stared at the sky, the mention of his name made her heart flutter. It provided warmth in places that she now realized were cold.

It made her smile.

She had instinctively brought a hand close to her chest the more she thought of him.

She dropped it though as she heard him plop behind her.

She looked at him as he carefully made his way towards her with a ginormous box of pizza in his hands which smelt delightful.

"Okay…" he said, gently approaching her, being careful to not drop the pizza he held in one hand while he held a plastic bag of drinks in another. He handed her the bag of drinks as he plopped himself next to her, placing the box in between them.

He took off his gloves along with his broken web-shooters, and lifted up his mask over his nose as Laura watched him lick his lips fondly.

"Ho, ho, ho," He exclaimed, opening up the box which released steam that made him shiver in excitement.

Boy, it looked good.

The fresh mozzarella shimmered with a heavenly light, and the tomato sauce filled his nostrils with a pleasant smell that made every cell in his body want to devour the cheesy dish and the spicy sausage looked like it was cooked by the gods themselves.

He raised his gaze to look at Laura who was looking at him with a soft expression on her face.

He nudged his head towards the pizza, gesturing for her to take the first slice.

"Go on, you get the first slice since you won. I promise you'll love it," he told her with a smile that amused her.

She nodded and went to slowly grab the pizza with one hand. She immediately used her second one though as the cheese on the piece she grabbed was getting dragged off by the other slices which she sought to prevent.

Peter chuckled as he saw her awkwardly take out a simple pizza slice.

She looked at it briefly, observing all the ingredients before finally taking a bite out of it.

Peter watched as she chewed ever so slowly on the Pizza.

It was cute.

It took a while but she finally swallowed the bite she took.

"How is it?" he eagerly asked, hoping that she liked it.

"It is good," she did.

It was really good.

The cheese had a nice creamy and chewy texture, the tomato sauce was perfectly sweet, and the spicey meats on it provided flavor that was much to her liking.

This was much to her liking.

"Yes!" Peter exclaimed, happy to see that she was pleased. Now it was her turn to watch as he took his own slice with ease, however she would race a brow when he started coughing a few seconds after taking a bite.

The pizza was spicier than he remembered.

He tried cooling his mouth down with the coke at his side but the burning sensation from the spice combined with the burning sensation from the soft drink created hell in his mouth.

The pizza was really good though.

He noticed Laura looking at him again, a concerned expression on her face.

He let out an embarrassed laugh, "Spice…isn't really my strong suit," he admitted, cooling his mouth more with the soft drink he nearly downed in one gulp.

"Then why did you order the pizza?" she questioningly asked, wondering why he would get something that was not his strong suit.

"Cause… you'd like it," he answered, explaining why, which caused her to look down.

"Could you…remove your mask?" she asked him softly, looking back up and gazing into his lenses which she wished were removed so that she could look into azure eyes that were full of light that she wanted to see.

"Why?" he asked her, tilting his head in confusion.

"I like it better when it's off," she admitted, sparking a reaction from Peter who found himself all of a sudden wondering if the pizza was spicier than he imagined because all of a sudden it felt like he was getting heartburn alongside a roasting of the cheeks.

He was reluctant but his spider-sense would tell him if anyone was looking.

He took off his mask and she looked at him for a good while which got him all nervous.

She much preferred looking at his long angular face and his bright blue eyes than she did his mask. She enjoyed looking at the hair that blew in the wind, the Caucasian skin with blemishes of pink, the mouth that had laugh lines, and more importantly, the eyes that displayed everything who he was.

"So uh…how'd ya like today?" she nervously asked the girl whose gaze melted away every wall he had.

"I liked it a lot," she sincerely stated, taking another bite from the pizza which brought her great pleasure with Peter doing the same.

"Is every day like this for you?" she asked, wondering if she should start expecting the rest of her days to be like this one.

"Well…it's not every day that you get new powers and find out you're part of a secret race of people but outside of that…yeah, pretty much," he looked up, browsing his mind and comparing it to the rest of his other days, "Sometimes it's hard though, actually, a lot of the time it's really hard…" he paused, recalling all the events that transpired in his life – the nightmare sights, the disheartening days, "but that sight with the Connors, seeing them be so happy and relieved because of us…knowing that I at least do some good…makes it all worth it in the end," he told the girl with all his heart.

She noticed the wording he used, the guilt that secretly infected his words…

"You do a lot of good," Laura stated, causing him to look at her with surprise, "Many people would have just killed him and been done with it, but you went out of your way to cure him, even allowed him to retain his arm," she admirably stated, knowing full well that if it was anyone else who wasn't Peter Parker, they would have just killed the desperate Doctor instead of conducting the painstaking task of curing him.

"Well, that's what we do Laura, we do more than just save people, we help them too," he said with a gentle smile she reciprocated.

"You care a lot about people," she said with adoration that flattered him greatly.

"I'm not the only one," he retorted with an infectious smile that made the girl's own display of happiness increase.

"I want to do more of it. I want to save more people…with you," she earnestly confessed with passion and drive that surprised the boy but he looked away, causing her expression to instantly change into worry.

Did she say something wrong?

"I appreciate it Laura…but…I work alone," he said with hesitance in his voice but Laura furrowed her brow upon noticing his doubtful answer.

"The Kingpin is still out there and with what Daredevil said, you need all the help you can get," she strongly stated, not taking "no" as an answer.

He shook his head at this though.

"Maybe I do, but this is my responsibility, not yours. The Kingpin is here because of me and I have to be the one that stops him…alone," he declared, putting up the fiercest voice he could muster but try as he might, he could not hide his uncertainty – his sorrow which she recognized.

"...It's better this way," he muttered in a voice she recognized as well.

"How?" she pried, sparking the boy to turn to her with pained eyes.

"Because I'm the only one who gets hurt," he admitted to the girl who looked at him with complete understanding, "Laura…the people near me…when they get involved…they get hurt and I don't want them to get hurt. I don't want you to get hurt," he confessed to the girl who found herself now on the opposite end of the conversation she gave to those who got close.

She knew what would happen next.

The distance, the withdrawal, the disappearance…

"I can take care of myself!" she yelled, refusing what he was trying to do but Peter wouldn't give in. He would try – no matter how hard it was, to get the girl out before she dived too deep into his life.

"You already got your neck snapped, Laura-" he passionately argued, fearing for her safety.

"-And I came back," she argued back, refusing his efforts to have her just cease the path that she liked, that she wanted to be on for as long as she could remember, the path that he showed her.

"And what happens when you don't!? I don't want you to die, Laura…" he expressed his utmost want which caused the girl to freeze upon hearing just how much he cared about her. The fear in his eyes to have people get close – the trauma of losing ones who were, it was on full display to the girl who could relate in ways no one else could.

"You're scared that I might end up like Gwen, aren't you?" she asked him softly, knowing the source of this conversation – of his fear, of his pain.

"I'm scared that you'll end up like everyone else who gets close," he admitted to the girl who sympathized with his pain – who shared it.

"Everyone who gets close to me gets hurt too," she said, placing a hand over the pendant which belonged to someone dear – someone now out of her reach, "But I am not like everyone else, and neither are you," she stated, drawing one of the many parallels she had with him.

"I was created to be the perfect killing machine. Anything short of drowning, decapitation, or complete annihilation will not kill me. I am an expert in every martial art, stealth, strategy, deception, I know every possible way how to kill a person, I know-" She listed off her numerous skills, trying her best to sway the boy who reluctantly listened.

"Alright, Alright, I get it, I get it, but still, I-"

"-You do not have a say, I will help you, whether you want it or not," she strongly stated. It would not matter if he did not want her, she would assist him tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that.

She would help him as he helped her.

"Why?" Peter sincerely asked her, wondering why she refused his efforts, why she wanted to stay by his side…

"Because…I do not want you to die too…" she confessed to the boy whom in this day alone made a connection like no other with, "...Because with great power comes great responsibility. I have the power to help, to do good, so I must," she stated softly with a smile, catching the boy who was completely off guard – completely touched, by her words that he should've seen coming.

He let out a small laugh, "What happened to not being a hero?" he playfully asked.

"You showed me that I was wrong," she stated fondly, brushing her hair to the side to show him her tender look.

They shared a gaze but he quickly looked away…

"You should know that not too many people like me," he said once again trying to fruitlessly dissuade her from her choice.

"That does not concern me," she answered in a low voice.

"Some of them aren't just villains."

"It doesn't matter what they are, if they start a fight, I will end it," she threateningly declared, unsheathing her claws to display to the boy that she was not scared.

He got the point and she quickly put them away.

He let out a sigh and looked at her softly.

"Are you sure about this?" he hesitantly asked her, finally realizing that she would not be swayed.

This was the surest she had ever been in her entire life.

"Yes," she firmly declared, looking at him with a soft gaze.

He let out a smile while briefly closing his eyes.

"Well, then partner, to Spider-Man and Talon?" he said as he lifted up his pizza into the air.

She lifted up her own pizza slice, "To Spider-Man and Talon," she finished with a smile.

They bit into their pizzas together, and Peter found himself coughing almost immediately as Laura stared at him with complete amusement as he downed his soda only to instantly regret it, again.

"You know, despite my taste buds being completely annihilated and my mouth in constant agony when I take a bite, I actually really like this," he said with a chuckle.

Laura let out a small giggle at that.

Her giggle surprised him to his core and when he turned to look at her, he was met with the most beautiful small smile that he had ever seen plastered on her gorgeous face as she looked at him with her enthralling eyes of emerald while her long majestic onyx locks flowed gently in with the soft wind.

He let his mouth go on autopilot.

"You know you should stop glaring every now and then, you're really beautiful," He told her with a smile, catching the girl completely off guard.

He registered what he told her almost immediately.

"S-sorry…I-I…," he was stuttering, oh, he wanted to punch himself in the face.

He looked away from her.

She kept her gaze on him.

&*$, he hated his mouth.

She remembered the things he called her earlier.

Why can't he ever shut up?

Smart. Beautiful. Kind.

He didn't know what he hated more, the intense heat on his cheeks or his heart literally screaming at him for not knowing the most basic human skills.

While she found his ceaseless talking to be headache-inducing sometimes, it was nice, it was comforting, and it reminded her that she wasn't alone.

God just kill him now before he did it himself.

He was too embarrassed to wonder why it sounded like the pizza box was moving.

He felt a small weight on his shoulder and the intoxicating warmth that came with it.

What?

He turned his gaze to see her resting her head on his shoulder.

"I will try," she softly stated, finding her place on his shoulder.

He was glad that she couldn't look at him because right now his face was just about as red as his mask. Laura was dealing with her own issues, finding herself nervous for the first time in her life, fearing that he did not like what she had done to the spike in his heart rate.

She was relieved when she heard it go down and felt his shoulders relax immensely

It took a while but he managed to get words to come out of his mouth once again.

"So…this...this institute of yours…you live there right?" he asked her, remembering that she briefly mentioned that there was a place for mutants and that she had been there for a week.

"Yes," she answered, shifting her head to get even more comfortable on his soft and warm shoulder.

"And the people there are like us? powers and all?"

"Yes, if you want, I can inform the professor and we can come to your house tomorrow and talk about your enrollment," she said as she was informed of the procedure they conducted when recruiting mutants with families.

She could feel his muscles get stiff.

"You are worried that if you enroll that the others will also be put in danger," she stated more so than asked, Peter hesitantly nodded, "Do not fret, the headmaster alongside another student are powerful telepaths that can render the whole world – including you and me into vegetables if they were pushed. One of the teachers has complete control over the weather, and the other one – the man I was cloned from, has all my abilities alongside an adamantium skeleton which makes him virtually indestructible," she stated, quelling his worries.

"Does he growl too?" Peter asked with a small laugh.

"Yes," she simply answered, causing him to chuckle more.

"Great," Peter said as he finished a slice of pizza. The girl had noticed it and grabbed one from the box before handing it which pleased him greatly.

"Thanks," he said as he took it with his left hand while her head rested on his right shoulder.

"So the students, do they also have emotional baggage like us?" Peter asked, taking a big bite but also being careful as to not get anything on the girl who rested herself on him.

"No," she wasn't aware of anyone in the institute who had gone through the same amount of tribulations they had.

"Aw… and here I was hoping I could start a club for super-teens who feel sorry for themselves," he said through a mouthful of people.

"I would be the only one who could attend," she said, amused with that possibility.

"Well, no offense to them, they're probably great n'all but you'd be the only person I'd want to attend," he said in a mock whisper. "We're like, two of a kind you and I!" he said to the girl who thought about that sentence.

She thought about how they shared the same fear of losing the ones they loved, how they were responsible for hurting them, and how they carried the insurmountable guilt of doing so.

They had their differences too, but that did not change the fact that they were indeed, "Two of a kind," she reiterated as she crossed her legs which dangled off the rooftop.

She liked that.

"So what are the other kids like if they don't come with an overbearing amount of baggage and angst?" Peter asked with a small laugh.

"A girl our age named 'Kitty Pryde' is a big fan of you, She has pictures of you on her walls and she can phase through objects," Laura said as she remembered the brunette girl.

"Okayyyyy," Peter nervously replied.

"Another one is a boy named 'Bobby Drake' who is exactly like Storm with the only exception of his powers being the elemental opposite," Peter shuddered at that, one Johnny Storm was enough for him.

"Kurt Wagner is also a fan of you, but not to the extent of Kitty. While I haven't interacted with him, the others say he is nice. His mutation causes him to have an imp-like appearance and teleportation powers but despite that, he is a devout Christian," Peter chuckled at the irony.

She continued to give a description of the others but he was noticing a trend, she didn't really know much of the other students.

"How come you don't really know the others well?" He asked her with a raised brow.

"They…aren't like us…" she answered to the boy who she took comfort in – who she found similarity with.

"You mean they aren't baggaged and damaged when you say 'like us' don't you?" Peter said as he understood her tone, she nodded. "You don't hang out with them do you?" he asked her, having walked down the route she was on before.

"I prefer to be alone."

"Well that's a shame Snikety-Snkit, 'cause now that I'm around that's not going to be happening anytime soon," Peter said with a little nudge to her side.

"You are different though," Laura stated, his comment reaching and warming her core, "You understand, they do-"

"-Ughh, don't give me that," Peter exclaimed, shaking his head, "Is that why you don't hang out with them? Because 'they don't understand,'" Peter said as he tried to make his voice as flat and depressing as possible, she nodded and he looked at her softly, "You know I've been there before so believe me when I say, just because they haven't gone through the same things you have doesn't mean they can't understand, it just means the only way they can is if you let them."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, you gotta give others a chance," she didn't respond to that.

"People might not seem like much but if you give them a chance Laura, you'd be surprised," Peter said encouragingly.

"If I gave them a chance, would they give me a chance, if they know what I am?" Laura hesitantly asked as she shuffled in anxiety, in insecurity – in the fear of being judged, of being left alone.

"If they're worth anything, then yes," Peter said as he hoped that she would take his advice.

She thought about his words. The people back at the mansion weren't bad but telling them what she told Peter…"You don't have to tell them everything now," Peter said as he saw the look of hesitance on her face, "But…you know…maybe a nice 'hello' or a 'good morning' could be a start," He recommended.

"I'll…think about it," Laura said as she thought about the others back at the mansion.

"Good," Peter said with a smile, gazing at the horizon with her.

"Anyways, if I agree to join you at this institute, will you guys come to my house tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Will you come?" he asked her, hoping that she would say yes.

"Yes," his hope came true.

"So I'll see you tomorrow then?" Peter asked with an excited voice.

"You will see me tomorrow regardless," she said as she looked at him, still retaining her spot on his shoulder, "But yes, if you agree to join then I will come with The Professor, and we can see each other much earlier."

He liked the sound of that.

"Well then…sure, I'd like to at least hear you guys out."

"I will tell them then," she nodded, glad that he agreed to hear them out and the possibility of him moving in that came with the decision.

"What will we be doing?" she curiously asked, wondering what they would be doing in the day outside of their superhero activities.

"Well, I gotta go to the Daily Bugle first," Peter answered, confusing her.

"Why?" What business did he have to go to the news company that ruined his image?

"I work there."

"Do they not slander you?" Why would he want to work there if they made the city hate him?

"They do, but it's the only job where I can make money to support my aunt while helping people as Spider-Man," Peter shrugged, already accepting the circumstance.

"That's why he does it. So he could support his aunt while helping others," Laura thought. She wasn't surprised by this answer, however, weren't there better options?

"There are the heroes for hire," she recommended, remembering the conversation from this morning.

"See, I don't know them, but I have read about them. While I would love to get paid being able to do this superhero gig it would never work out 'cause I'd do it for free anyway so nobody would pay me, cause why pay someone when they'd do it for free? Now if I was smarter, I would find a way to get paid but I'm an idiot so just helping people is enough for me, despite the fact I'm constantly desperate for cash," he laughed, finding joy in his situation that could be so easily fixed if he were anyone else.

"You may be an idiot-" Laura began to say.

"Hey," Peter interrupted with mock annoyance.

"-But you are a very noble and admirable idiot," she said with adoration, shifting herself so that she could get even closer to him.

Peter's heart found itself getting lifted up to new heights by each word Laura said, by each smile she flashed, by each glimpse he caught of her.

He pushed his luck and put his hand over hers.

She froze a bit, but she ever so slowly found herself putting her fingers over his.

They held onto each other with a gentle lock that refused to be broken.

"Could you say that again? I don't get complimented a lot," he asked in a teasing manner.

"You are a very noble and admirable idiot," she stated once again, willing to entertain him.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you?" he said with a small laugh.

"Shut up," she replied with a laugh of her own, shutting her eyes as she basked in the warmth she found in him, in the peace, in the quiet, in the safety.

He let out a small chuckle and remained silent as he watched the streets.

It was a comfortable silence.

Peter was happy.

Laura was happy.

They wanted this moment to last forever.

Peter looked at her figure with a soft expression all over his face.

"You know… I was wondering about something. You haven't experienced much of life because of the facility have you?" he asked her, wondering if his suspicions were right.

She nodded confirming that they were.

"I was wondering that maybe… maybe I could uh, show you all the things that you haven't done yet?" he nervously asked her, wanting her to experience all the good life had to give just like Aunt and Uncle did for him.

"What do you mean?" she curiously, opening her eyes in intrigue of his request.

"I mean that…when we're not superheroing… I could…maybe… take you to not just the zoo but amusement parks as well…or nice restaurants with a wide array of cultural foods or build that Lego set that's been sitting in my room for months," he's been lazing around from building that lego N-sixty-four but its proved to be a good thing.

She didn't waste a second on answering that.

"I… would…like to do those things with you, Peter," She eagerly expressed her utmost desire to experience things she hadn't yet, things she didn't understand, with him.

Peter was inwardly bouncing around his brain in joy however he had to clarify one thing.

"Now don't expect anything fancy like trips to Paris or five-star restaurants but-"

"I do not need any of those things," she simply stated. As long as she had someone to experience those things with, as long as he was with her, it would do.

"Well…uh…well good, that's good," Peter was surprised by her instantaneous answer.

He briefly looked up to the sky and thanked God.

She closed her eyes as she let his scent fill her lungs.

They didn't say anything for a long time and just found joy and peace in each other's company. It was a small moment of respite in their lives, a moment where they were allowed to express themselves – to be themselves, to be people. They held onto each other for as long as they could before they reluctantly departed and while they were saddened by the day's ending, the promise of seeing each other tomorrow, and the day after it, was what kept them smiling long after they had said their goodbyes.

Peter arrived home much later than intended but upon seeing the smile that was on his face his Aunt quickly forgave him and excitedly asked about his day, most of her questions involving the name "Laura."

Who was responsible for his bright mood,

He answered them with a smile on his face.

He took a shower and entered his darkroom, a smile still plastered all over his face as he thought about the girl he just met.

"Didn't know a girl was all it took to get past your spider-sense," an amused voice said from the corner of his room.

Peter jumped as he watched the figure of Nick Fury emerge from the shadows.

"Does everyone have to break into my house?" Peter said as he looked at the bald African-American man who wore his iconic trench coat alongside his famous eye patch.

"I did it first," Fury defended as he took a seat on Peter's computer chair.

"Yeah…yeah, you did, but you know, there's a thing called a 'front door,'" Peter said with both annoyance and fondness as he took a seat on his bed and looked at the man who ran the world from behind the scenes.

"You're right, next time I'll be sure to knock and explain to your aunt why the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to speak to her nephew," Fury quickly retorted.

"Touché," Peter said with a small laugh as he found Fury's rebuttal funny.

Fury let out a breath in amusement before getting to the point.

"So, you're back now," Fury stated to Peter who simply nodded and said,

"I'm back."

"You're a mutant now too," he stated to the surprise of Peter.

"How?" He questioned as only the Fantastic Four and Laura knew about that but Fury merely smirked and Peter rolled his eyes, "Forgot who I was talking to for a moment," of course, Fury knew.

"Xavier's people are good. If I were you, I'd accept the offer tomorrow. It would do you some good, alongside your aunt as well," Fury had a point, if he left that would greatly relieve the stress she had of taking care of him.

"How come you know about Xavier? I thought mutants were supposed to be this super-secret race," Peter asked as he was wondering how Fury came across this.

"Kid, there's more than just mutants on this planet," Fury said to the surprise of Peter, "You can't hide a race of people for long without others finding out and you can't hide anything from me. Right now, Xavier has an agreement with the president to allow him to mentor and hide mutants away as the government figures out what to do when they eventually become revealed to the public but I'll get to that later. You're going up against Wilson Fisk," Fury said, pulling out a big file from his coat and passing it to Peter.

"You're gonna need to know what you're up against," Fury said as Peter looked at the folder named "Wilson Fisk."

"It has information on the fat man and his operations but nothing steady that can be used to incriminate him. I have agents working on the inside collaborating with the FBI on this," Peter was surprised by this.

"Why?"

"Fisk runs the biggest criminal organization that spans across the country, parts of the world even and he's connected to one of the largest superhuman trafficking operations in the world. We don't know where the trafficking is situated but we know that multiple enemies of the state, alongside enemy countries, are a part of this in an attempt to get a head start in a superhuman arms race. The only exception to that list would be Latveria," Fury finished as Peter skimmed through the file.

"Of course," he thought as he read on the intel. Only someone like Doom would refuse to take part in a superhuman arms race because he was confident that there would be no threat that could best him.

He scanned through most of the file before putting it underneath his bed.

"Do you think that he'll leave Doctor Connors alone?" Peter asked Fury who shook his head.

"No, he already sent men to his house to kill them," Fury flatly stated much to Peter's surprise.

"What?" Peter said as he looked at the eye-patched man in shock.

"They would have killed them too if it weren't for S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to come and help them with relocation," Fury said to the relief of Peter. "We're going to be moving them somewhere…close by," Peter raised a brow, Fury was hinting at something that, a trait that he hated whenever he did it – why not just tell him directly?

"Moving from Fisk though, that new friend of yours is running from an organization I think you should know about," Fury changed the subject, handing Peter a smaller folder titled "Weapon X-23." he looked at it for a second, looking at the distasteful name written in black ink before passing it back to the man.

"You should know what she is," Fury firmly stated but Peter shook his head.

"I do," Peter adamantly declared.

"She's killed hundreds of people and is currently wanted by multiple government agencies, S.H.I.E.L.D. being one of them," Fury stated again with a tone of voice that Peter couldn't decipher, "I could march to the institute and arrest her, and I should," Fury firmly declared as if he was trying to convince himself of what he should do.

"But…you're not," Peter said following picking up on this attempt.

"No, I'm not," he shook his head, admitting that he wouldn't lay a finger to both himself and the girl.

"Could, 'cause if you did then I'd have to fight you," Sixteen-year-old Peter Parker declared to the most powerful man on the planet who gave him an amused look.

"You'd fight the whole entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. just to protect her?" The adult man cloaked in shadows asked the boy, intrigued with the answer he knew he would say.

"I'd fight the world," Peter staunchly declared which prompted the man to wave the folder of her in her face, convinced that the boy would be able to answer the question he needed to be answered.

"This file contains all the information about her past that exists nowhere else. It was created by one of the smartest people on the planet, and one of the few I trust. It tells me exactly what she is: a cold-hearted, unkillable, killing machine and one of the most dangerous weapons on the planet, but I don't care about that. I want to know what you think she is," Fury genuinely asked the boy who had just spent two whole days with the girl – who knew her better than the heartless agent who wrote the report.

He gave a soul-piercing glare to the boy with his one eye, silently telling him that the answer he would give now would dictate what Fury would do with her.

"She's a person just like you and me, who's been forced to do horrible things all her life, and it haunts her. But despite that, when given a choice, she chooses to do what's right. She's a hero. And her name isn't 'X-23', it's Laura Kinney. Talon," he passionately informed the man, leaving no room for argument and demanding Fury to rename it.

Fury let out a smile, satisfied with Parker's answer.

"That's all I needed," Fury told the boy with an eager smile, before pulling out a lighter and setting the document which contained sensitive information ablaze, tossing it into the air as both he and Peter watched the folder fade away with dying flames that had nothing else to burn.

Peter let out a smile.

"You're not as bad as you set yourself out to be, Nick," Peter said, grateful for his action.

"You haven't seen me when I'm angry," The man lightheartedly retorted.

Peter let out a mock shiver.

An angry Nick Fury was the stuff of nightmares.

"I do want to know one thing, Peter," Fury asked, gaining the interest of him.

"Being a mutant, does it change anything?"

Peter thought about it for a minute before shaking his head.

"It's the same thing with a different name, Nick," Peter confidently answered to the man who expected the answer.

"I wish it was. but you represent a people now – you hold newer responsibilities. Not too many people know about mutants, but the ones that do overzealously persecute them; it doesn't help that the self-proclaimed 'leader' for mutant-kind is a terrorist."

Peter raised his brow at that, "Wha-what are you getting at, Nick?"

Peter asked as he was hesitant to draw conclusions as to where Fury was going.

"When mutant-kind goes public it'll shake the world to its very core. People will get scared, they'll want answers, and they'll turn to people to find them," He educated the boy who hadn't thought about that.

"I…I still don't know what you're getting at," Peter honestly said, oblivious to what The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was alluding to.

"I want to know what you're gonna' do when the world calls for you," Fury bluntly explained, trying his best to disclose what he was getting it while also not directly saying it.

Peter let out a huff, "You already know the answer to that."

"I do, but I want to hear you say it," he eyed the boy who was always of great importance but with the recent revelation, it had been increased by tenfold.

"The same thing I always do, Nick, I'll answer it, because with great power…"

""Come's great responsibility,"" The two declared in synchronization, looking at each other with firm determination, and in Nick Fury's case, hidden Pride.

The look of conviction in Parker's eyes, the spark that Fury saw was more than enough to convince him that the boy would step up when needed.

"Glad to have you back, Spider-Man," he said with a relieved voice, patting the boy on the shoulder before making an exit through his bedroom window.

"Glad to be back," Peter replied.

Peter watched the form of Nick Fury effortlessly slip through his window and he let a simple question escape his lips.

"Nick…. Do you know who took the Goblin gear off of Norman's body?"

As he was halfway out his window Fury paused to look back at him.

Fury shook his head and Peter's heart sank.

"We will find out eventually. Rest easy though Webhead, Norman Osborn is dead, and he'll stay like that for the rest of eternity," Fury said as he left the Parker household.

"Yea…he is…" Peter thought as he was left alone in his room.

He is.

Laura had walked to her room slowly as she recalled the events of today, instinctively putting a hand over her heart, still retaining a smile. The hallways were empty, the lights were off, all occupants of the mansion had long since put themselves to bed, and soon, she would follow them.

She stopped right in front of her door and through her eleation she managed to recognize a familiar scent that patiently waited on her bed. She gave herself a second to hide any sign of emotion before entering her room.

As she expected, Logan sat on her bed, a briefcase in between his legs as he sat beside a simple lamp that warmly illuminated her room.

"Took you long enough," Logan light-heartedly told the girl who narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists.

"I'm not going to stop," she declared as strongly as she possibly could.

To her surprise, he simply let out a soft chuckle before saying, "I know…" he gave her a soft gaze before patting the spot beside him, and she slowly found herself moving toward it.

"Heard you and him saved lives today," he said as she sat down beside him.

She nodded.

"Tell me about it," Logan asked, interested in what the girl had done outside his supervision.

There was so much that had transpired that Laura couldn't figure out where to start.

"...There was… a scientist… who was forced into becoming a monster by a man named Wilson Fisk. Spider-Man manufactured a cure to reverse the transformation and we cured him alongside saving his family," she said as she looked at Logan who was surprised.

"Spider-Man manufactured a cure?" Logan asked with a raised brow, knowing that the task in reverting a mutated scientist took great skill and knowledge that was beyond him.

She nodded, "He used his expertise in the sciences alongside the Doctor's notes to create a serum that would cure the doctor while also allowing him to retain the arm he sought to recover. He thought that with everything the doctor had been through it would be nice for him to get what he wanted," she recalled with a tenderness in her voice that Logan caught.

"So…Spider-Man…he's a brainy?" Logan asked her, wanting to know more about the boy who had spent a whole day with the girl beside him and by all means had a great impact on her.

"Yes…he is incredibly smart with an IQ that rivals that of a young Reed Richards," she said, answering his question as her lips slightly went upwards the more she thought of him.

"Who's that?" Logan asked as he was unfamiliar with that name.

"A scientist who's a part of the Fantastic Four. I met him today," she informed the gruff man who lifted both his brows in utter surprise.

"You met the Fantastic Four?" he asked her with disbelief.

She nodded again, "He took me to their base. He is very close with them and because of that, they greeted me warmly and already took a liking to me because I helped him the day before. I also saw someone I'd thought I'd never see again: his name is 'Daredevil' he was the Lawyer I told you about, the one who took my side when S.H.I.E.L.D. interrogated me," Logan nodded, recalling what she had told him a couple days ago. "I am going to be seeing him again tomorrow alongside a handful of other superheroes with Spider-Man in a plan to rid Wilson Fisk who is the man behind the crime wave in New York," she said, finishing the small part with minor hatred though with all that had happened, it came off as just minor irritation.

Logan took a second to digest all this.

"So…you and Spider-Man…what are you two exactly?" Logan asked as he was curious about their relationship.

"We're… partners," she fondly stated with pride.

"Partners with Spider-Man, huh?" Logan asked again, wanting confirmation which Laura gave with a swift nod, "And you also met The Fantastic Four, who like you?" she nodded again.

"They even gave me the same level of security access they give Spider-Man, allowing me to come and go into their base freely alongside their numbers should I ever need their help," she showed Logan her ever-growing list of contacts.

He let out an exaggerated huff at that.

"Don't tell Kitty that or else she'll latch onto you like a bunch of fleas that'll never leave," he told her with complete and utter seriousness.

"I have no intention of telling her or anyone else," she stated.

"Good."

He noticed something weighing her down.

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?" he asked, trying to get her chest free.

"When we tried curing him the first time, it didn't work. The mutated scientist snapped my neck…I lost control…I-I attacked him…you were right…" she admitted to Logan with guilt at the heart-dropping sight of the wounded Peter Parker clutching his chest.

Logan let out a soft laugh, "I was… but I was also wrong…you can do more than just kill. I was just too stupid to let you prove it to me," Logan shook his head, ashamed of actions he already accepted and sought to amend.

His words surprised Laura who widened her eyes before looking down – touched by his words, and the words of Peter that echoed within her head, "...he also said that ...even after I told him what I was, he said that I was a person…a hero…" she said with endearment and a genuine smile as she brought her hand over her heart once again.

Logan noticed the smile on her face and the gentle tone she spoke used when addressing the boy.

"He was right," Logan stated as he looked up, searching his mind.

Laura watched as she saw him smile at the ceiling, "You know kid…I…I didn't really know what to do with you this past week. A child who was raised from birth to kill, calling you 'problemed' would be an understatement," he said with a small laugh, "Hell, even Chuck didn't know what to do either outside of respecting your space…but…I think I've got the right idea on what to do with you now," he confidently declared as he put the briefcase he was holding on his lap.

She looked at it with keen eyes, "Just one question," he asked her with a gaze that reached into her core.

"Why?"

She paused for a moment

There were so many answers to that question, and yet there was only really one…

"Because I want to help…because with great power comes great responsibility," she stated with conviction that caused Logan to huff.

"That's…That's a good answer," he told her with a smile as he handed the briefcase to her.

She opened it up to be greeted with a sight that left her baffled and eyes completely wide, "Birth certificate, social security number, driver's license, passport, citizenship, you name it," he told her as she looked at the documents.

She looked at the documents where it labeled her parents.

She saw the name of her mother, "Sarah Kinney," and the name of her father…

Unknown.

Her heart sank a bit and Logan gave a solemn gaze.

"You've still got one more thing…" he added, replacing her disappointment with confusion.

She couldn't smell anything else.

"There's a cover, made it so it hides the stuff unnerneath,'" he told her with a sly grin.

At the mention of a cover, she noticed it immediately upon taking all the documents that made her an official citizen of the United States out of the briefcase.

"Go on…take it off," Logan nudged her softly.

She took it off only to be left stunned.

"If yer gonna be a superhero kid you're goin' to have to wear more than just a bra," Laura informed her as she looked at his gift.

She looked at the gray mask with long pointed ears.

She turned to Logan with surprised eyes, it was exactly like his, just excluding the yellow, "Thought you'd like it," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I…do…" she gazed at the uniform given to her by him, the uniform which displayed his support, his care, and the new path she would take.

"There's more, Kitty helped me with the rest of the costume 'cause I dunno' what girls like nowadays," he admitted as she pulled out the top half of the costume to reveal a short-sleeved crop top that was black in the middle and gray on the sides. The sleeves had gray stripes as the rest was quite simple with long black gloves, and black and gray pants alongside a belt with a red circle and an 'x' in the middle.

"I know you like them boots of yers so I decided not to do anything for the feet," Logan said and she let out a small smile at his consideration.

He watched as she stared at her mask and he decided to pass on something he wished he learned long ago.

"This is going to be one of the few good things I'll ever say so remember this alright?" Logan said, gaining her attention, and having her keenly await what he was going to say.

"When you're out there, you're going to see things – experience things…and I just want you to remember one important thing. When you're out there bein' a hero, it's not about getting revenge nor is it even about huntin' down the guilty. It's about savin' lives, as many as you possibly can, and doing whatever you see fit to accomplish that," Logan expressed and passed down his core lesson to the girl who not only internalized it, but decided to add a part to it herself.

She nodded but decided to add a part herself.

"It's not just about saving lives, it's about helping them too," she said with conviction to the surprise of Logan.

He was quite proud to hear her say this.

He squeezed her shoulder and nodded his head, agreeing with her new addition and adding it to his beliefs along with the other lesson she told him.

"I'm sorry 'bout earlier…I just didn't want you to be makin the same mistakes I did. I wound up hurtin' a whole lot of people before I started out actually helpin'," Logan shook his head, regret in his voice but the girl absolved him, understanding why he did what he did.

"I almost did that today. I wanted to kill the doctor without even trying to cure him first. He showed me that there was another way," Laura told Logan who smiled at that.

"Spider-Man doesn't sound so bad," Logan bequeathed to Laura what he genuinely thought of the hero.

"He isn't," she passionately snapped, "He is very kind and caring and humorous when he isn't annoying," Logan was surprised by her instantaneous defense of him. "The people who know him speak highly of him and he even gets free pizza from the best pizzeria in all of New York."

"What would this pizzeria be exactly?" Logan asked with curiosity.

"It's located in the Greenwich Village, they make Neapolitan pizzas. He took me there'" Logan widened his eyes at that.

"That is the best Pizzeria in all of New York. It's expensive as hell though, twenty dollars for a twelve-inch…" Logan mumbled as he started stroking his chin, "He gets it for free?" he asked her with a raised brow and glint in his eyes.

"Anything he wants. As much as he wants. Any size he wants. The owner told him that on the day he saved his daughter from dying," Laura stated much to Logan's interest.

"Hmmmm…" Logan said as he started forming ideas in his head,"Well I'm glad he's a mutant now," Logan said with a grin that surprised Laura.

"We detected him earlier," He explained to her, Laura wasn't surprised by this, "Peter Parker, huh?" Logan questioningly asked and she nodded. "Lives in Queens, fifty-one Ingram Street," Logan factually stated and Laura nodded confirming his statements.

"I told him about us, and he said that he'd be interested to hear us out," Logan patted her shoulder, impressed and relieved that they spared them of having to market their institute.

"We'll go to his house first thing tomorrow – immediately after breakfast. It'll be just us and the instructors, no one else," she nodded, liking Logan's plan, "And then the two of you can be doing the superheroing just be careful not to be in the spotlight though, you don't want to grab unwanted attention," Logan made sure to remind her of the threat she hadn't forgotten.

He patted her back one more time before leaving her with her stuff.

She watched his retreating figure, expecting more – wanting more, but she was grateful for all the things they covered.

He stopped at her door frame ever so slightly, there was still something left unsaid.

He just didn't know how to say it.

"And kid..." he said with a bit of nervousness as he looked over his shoulder.

She watched him with keen eyes, eagerly waiting for what he wanted to say.

"You did good," he confidently said before leaving her room.

She was taken aback by this immensely and looked down as she comprehended his words.

He was proud of her.

She looked up towards her mirror and stared at her own visage once again.

She stood up and grabbed the top half of her uniform, putting it over her body in an attempt to see what it would look like on her. She didn't hear the voices that plagued her, she didn't hear the psychopathic and malicious voice that called her things such as 'animal' or 'weapon.'

She smiled to herself as the voice of a gruff man told her that she did good and her heart fluttered when a soft yet strong, jovial voice called her things such as beautiful and kind. She could feel that warmth again, she could feel her heart beating for a singular name. She didn't know what this was but she would allow herself to bask in this nice feeling for as long as she could.

Logan walked outside the mansion to gaze at the stars far above.

"Spider-Man…" he said out loud once again.

He is a superhero, the students looked up to him, and the others spoke highly of him, Ororo, McCoy, Charles…Fury.

He's been requesting those damn documents for days now but Fury always fought him on it every single step, but the moment Spider-Man stands up for her and defends her, he gives him the documents, renames all of her files personally to 'Talon,' and flags them all and when Nick Fury flags something there is no way in hell you could access it, and if you do, he'd know.

He took out a smoke.

"Peter Parker…"

He let out a sniff.

There was no blood coming from her room for two days now.

Whatever problems he might add, whatever he might bring, what he could do for her was well worth the risk.

Logan wasn't an idiot, he knew what he was. If this chance meeting never occurred he would've just used Laura like everyone else – a weapon to be aimed at, cause if you asked him, he would have never imagined Laura doing the things she did today outside his dreams.

There were just some things he couldn't teach her but Parker could teach her those things.

He already has.

She was smiling whenever she was talking about him, she was laughing, she was even excited.

That smile alone was all it took to convince Logan about Peter Parker.

"Parker…" he mumbled as he looked at the stars.

Why does it feel like he's heard that name before?

"I see that you're already looking forward to our new student," a calm voice said behind Logan.

"I am Chuck. After seeing her today – I am. Question is: why are you?" He asked the man sat next to him on his wheelchair.

"Same reasoning as to why I have you, old friend," He solemnly told Logan who knew that the man had great plans in mind that needed specific people.

"Cause' mutant-kind needs a weapon," Logan said, reiterating his words from long ago "He isn't a weapon though," Logan aggressively stated, discarding the notion with passion.

"I know…he's something more…something better…" he trailed off as he looked up to the stars, no doubt brewing about the possibilities Parker brought.

"He's a hero," Logan stated to the man who let out a smile.

"And mutant-kind needs just that: A hero," he informed Logan who knew just what he was planning with his excited tone alone.

"You want him to be a figurehead don't ya?" Logan asked as he knew that Charles had big plans.

Charles nodded.

"That's a lot of weight to put on a kid's shoulder," Logan said in an almost accusing fashion as he narrowed his eyes at the bald man.

"I know, but I have faith that Mr. Parker will rise to the occasion. After all, Logan, isn't that what heroes do?" Charles rhetorically asked as he gazed at the soft light of the moon.

---

Kept ya waiting huh? Sorry bout' that, i've been busy with school, work, storyboarding, procrastinating, and research cause i want to do characters justice. I also wanted to make the chapters as best as i possibly could and the only way i could do that was was finish future chapters.

This is going to be a monthly release, most likely bi-monthly but we'll see. (I lied)

I'd like to end this first arc by paying respects and giving credit to all the creators of the characters used.

---

Spider-Man created by Stan Lee (1922 - 2018) & Steve Ditko (1927 - 2018)

X-23 created by Craig Kyle (1971) and Christopher Yost (1973)

The Fantastic Four & X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (1917 - 1994)

All other characters used are owned by Marvel.

---

I don't want to stray far from the creators original intentions for these characters and I'll try to keep the core aspects of them.

If anyone from Marvel has any problems and tells me to stop i'd happily oblige cause these characters aren't mine.

If Christopher Yost happens to be reading this, i'd like to say i love everything you've done, I love all your marvel cartoons alongside your x-23 books.

I also like your twitter content.