A new day had come.
The sounds of birds chirping and trees rustling could be heard as the sun radiated a moderate heat and Laura Kinney had once again woken up from a blissful slumber that was full of delightful dreams that involved a certain red and blue boy.
A boy who she was going to see again today.
The faintest hint of a smile found its way on her face as she got out of bed. Her thoughts were on Peter and the things they were going to be doing today. She had found a purpose yesterday, a mission, a goal: to help, to do good because she could. Such a goal would bring many enemies, many unknowns on top of the ones she already had. She pondered about the possibilities as she sat up on her bed, mercenaries and political leaders were no doubt on Wilson Fisk's AKA The Kingpins payroll, super-powered folk as well…she furrowed her brow as she pondered about the countless possibilities as to how she would deal with such situations…she would gain information from Peter later for no matter how much she was trained, the realm of super heroics was one that was still very new to her.
But it was a realm she wanted to be in.
With fire in her emerald eyes, she got up and found a change of clothes. Before she could do anything, first, she had to deal with the mundane activities of 'normal life.' She had woken up later than she had planned but it was still early enough to use the bathroom she shared with the three other girls in the mansion; The other three spent more time than needed and she did not want to be wasting countless minutes while they wondered what conditioner they would be using.
She left her room, clothes and towel neatly in hand but as she made her way, the dorm next to her opened with a swing.
And out the room came Pryde, her hair in a mess as she looked tired and drowsy. She rubbed her hazel eyes, yawning in the process and upon seeing her raven-haired neighbor, Kitty let out a small smile before waving at her and saying, "Good Morning X."
Laura didn't respond and merely looked at the girl that wore a pair of Fantastic Four Pajamas.
Kitty slightly furrowed her brow at this.
It was odd seeing X get up so late, or well early, well, early for her, late for X. Normally the fierce and quiet girl would always be up and about while everyone else was just getting up, but for once, or well twice cause yesterday, X had decided to sleep in which made Kitty glad because that signaled that she was slowly warming up to the place.
The lack of a morning greeting though did show that the girl needed more time to adjust.
And Kitty actually thought that she was getting somewhere with her after their talk.
Maybe one day she'd-
X paused as she took her first step away from Kitty which caused her to raise a brow in confusion.
Did she forget something in her room?
X turned around to look at her with a flat and unreadable expression which confused Kitty even further but the movement of her eyes showed that she was contemplating something, but what wa-
"...Morning…" Laura said as she looked at Kitty before swiftly turning away and proceeding with her task leaving Kitty completely dumbfounded.
Chapter 9: Slice of Parker Life One
The peaceful and quiet awakening of Laura Kinney was something that Peter Parker would envy for the loud bang of his door opening was the sound that abruptly woke him up from his less-than-stellar slumber. Even though he saved the day, that didn't fix his costume, his web shooters, or even clean the mess of Nick Fury's greatly appreciated, but over-the-top gesture for his approval of Laura and that's not even mentioning the bodies the Lizard ate, must've been weird on the dispatchers end to hear a teenage boy tiredly and nonchalantly give locations of bodies left over by a monster.
The only reason he was up was due to his Aunt bribing him with a large number of wheat cakes and his responsibilities to clean the house for Laura and Professor Xavier's arrival. He forgot to do some research on the guy but Laura lived at the institute and Nick Fury vouched for him, besides, he'd learn the things he could find online in a couple of hours anyways.
He finished the last of his aunt's famous and amazing wheat cakes with a satisfied smile.
He enjoyed them.
He did not enjoy cleaning the already clean living room.
He had the TV playing in the back as he lazily swept the floor. His aunt was busy in the other room, baking her famous cherry pie with increased proportions so that it could feed multiple people with multiple slices.
"Peter, sweep under the rugs too, I want this floor spotless," May ordered, Peter reluctantly complied. "Also, get the handheld vacuum and clean the spots underneath the couch pillows aswell. I know that there's chip crumbs underneath them," May added from her spot in the kitchen.
Peter let out a groan.
"But Aunt May, they won't even notice it," Peter said as those spots were not worth cleaning.
"No 'but's' Peter, I want this spotless for Professor Xavier and Laura. How do you think she'll feel when she sees that this house is a mess?" Aunt May rhetorically asked him.
Considering the fact that Laura had no trouble traversing the sewers he knew that she wouldn't care.
"If you don't do it, I will," Aunt May stated and he let out a sigh.
"I'll do it," Peter said as he reluctantly did what his aunt told him to. After cleaning the floor and making sure it was up to his aunt's standards, Peter got the vacuum and proceeded to do what his Aunt had asked him to do.
He did that mindlessly but stopped because something had caught his eye on the TV and he turned around in interest to see what it was.
He let out a deadpan expression and he knew that somewhere out there, Johnny was laughing.
The mayor had called a meeting for the arrest of Spider-Man after his assault on billionaire philanthropist Wilson Fisk and destruction of the zoo.
"Footage of the assault and of the destruction of the zoo have remained to be missing but injuries and reports from multiple witnesses have claimed that the masked vigilante Spider-Man broke into Wilson Fisk's office at night and assaulted both him and his guards. Along with earlier reports about the masked vigilante speeding down the streets of New York in a stolen car with an unidentifiable accomplice, Mayor Blasio has called a meeting for the possible arrest of the divisive vigilante and the person who aided him with his midtown escapades," A news reporter recapped as the students of the Xavier Institute ate their breakfast with interest.
Some of the students wore their casual clothes while others wore their sleepwear. Laura donned a simple black and white striped tank top along with a pair of black skinny jeans that had multiple straps that wrapped around each thigh. Her boots and pendant were things she always wore but she added a pair of black wristbands on each wrist this time, completing her attire that was adequate for the weather.
She ate quietly as the students gave their opinions on the news that surprised them. She was unphased by it though, with the mayor apparently being nothing but a puppet for Fisk, it was obvious that there were going to be talks about a possible arrest. There was some annoyance from her though as the news had decided to play up the opinions of people that aligned with the story they were trying to perpetrate.
That story being that Spider-Man was no hero.
And that his "Sidekick" would be just as bad as he was.
The students were more so interested in the mention of a possible sidekick than they were in an arrest for Spider-Man due to it apparently being not a rare occurrence for him to come into conflict with the law.
Her brow furrowed deeper and deeper the more she was referred to as his "sidekick."
Logan didn't bother hiding his amusement.
The students bickered amongst themselves, wondering who Spider-Mans 'sidekick' was and what they could do. Each time they unknowingly referred to her as his 'sidekick' a new vein was slowly appearing on her face until a tired and annoyed Laura said….
"She is not his sidekick. She is his partner," Laura stated in a flat and adamant tone which surprised everyone.
"She?" Bobby asked with a raised brow, clearly interested while Kitty was interested in something else.
"H-how do you know that?" Kitty asked in a curious voice as she and the other students looked at her questioningly.
Logan let out a chuckle as Laura soon recognized her mistake.
She paused for a moment before meeting the brunette girl's hazel eyes and stoically saying, "That's none of yo-"
"-It was stated in an article by the Globe," Ororo said over Laura's voice, drowning out her response and grabbing everyone's attention. "I read it earlier this morning and I'm guessing so did you," She finished as she flashed a small smirk at Laura.
Laura looked at the woman with blue irises and vertical-slitted pupils with well-hidden surprise before nodding her head.
"Yes," she said, strengthening Ororo's lie which got all the attention off of her and onto the silk-haired woman.
Laura watched as she furthered her lie, explaining the contents of the made-up article which used untrusted sources about the possibility of Spider-Man's female sidekick which effectively brought the students to believe that it was fake and drop the subject entirely.
Laura watched as she returned to her food, satisfied with her work.
Why did she do that?
"Peter! Are you done cleaning the bathroom!?" Aunt May yelled from downstairs.
"Just finished cleaning the toilet!" he yelled back as he took off the yellow rubber gloves that protected him from the chemicals he used to clean it and the tanker.
"We don't have whipped cream and we're running low on milk; can you go to the store to get the two alongside other things? I'll give you a list and some money!" Aunt May asked.
"Yea! I'll go once I'm done taking a shower!" Peter yelled as he put the gloves with the rest of the cleaning materials.
"Thank you, dear!" Aunt May happily yelled as she went back to baking her cherry pie.
Peter let out a relieved sigh as he wiped his forehead.
His cleaning duties were done and now it was time to take a well-deserved hot shower.
He absentmindedly took off his clothes before stepping into the bathtub.
A hot shower always brought a smile to Peter Parker's face. It didn't matter if he had a bad day, or multiple gashes and holes in his body, a hot shower would always get a groan of relief and a smile out of him.
It also brought out ingenious thoughts which is something he needed because currently he was in the process of brainstorming about making a new pair of web shooters. He needed a new pair because it was impossible to avoid damaging his current ones if he wished to use his stingers and besides, he's needed to upgrade them for a while and he was going to be going all out on these guys instead of cheaping out like he did when he first started out. These new guys wouldn't be made by a fifteen-year-old boy with the purpose to increase his showmanship as a spider-themed wrestler but made by what he would consider a seasoned superhero, with the purpose to save lives and take down the bad guys.
His knowledge had vastly grown since he was bitten by that spider since you can't stop supervillains and mad scientists by just being good at science and math alone.
He'd be using his extensive knowledge to make these new web-shooters as best as they possibly could, they would even be-
"Motion controlled in place of an actual trigger!" Peter yelled out of the blue mid-shower.
Note to self: Do more thinking in the shower, thoughts move more freely.
Peter would continue to spend another fifteen blissful minutes in the shower brainstorming, completely unaware of the time he spent until his aunt came knocking on the door. When she told him about the amount of time he spent on the shower he widened his eyes in surprise and he immediately ceased the activity.
After getting out of the shower he wrapped a towel around his body and went to brush his teeth but froze when he saw something within his reflection which caught his eye.
The wounds he sustained yesterday had fully healed but left some new scars on his body which didn't surprise him at all for he had the great displeasure to witness the scabs that were on his body when he took a shower last night.
He grimaced at the sight of a bite mark on his side courtesy of The Lizard; fortunately, they were faint, in the form of miniature dots where the teeth had pierced his body with no indentation or skin damage in sight which relieved him greatly.
The other wounds he sustained that night from the Lizard had fully healed.
But what captured his attention wasn't the bite mark.
It was the two diagonal slashes that were over his heart.
He grazed them with his fingers for a second before looking at them.
He winced a bit, cringing at the memory and the feeling of pain that came with it.
The painful face he made soon subsided though as a new memory came in.
He let out a smile as he looked at his new scar.
He brushed his teeth and took his stuff into his room, changing into his costume first before putting on a simple yet iconic attire that consisted of a gray long-sleeved shirt underneath a blue t-shirt which was accompanied with brown jeans and black high-top vans.
He exited his room and walked down the hallway towards the stairs but stopped as he noticed that the door to his aunt's room was open.
Common courtesy had led him to close it for her but something on the nightstand had captured his attention and curiosity got the better of him. He entered his aunt's neat and clean room and stared at the table that had a pile of letters which were scattered.
He looked at them with interest but as he sorted them out for his aunt who absolutely hated messes and disorganization but big red font had caused him to freeze and his blue eyes to widen.
Laura had emptied the duffle bag full of cash on her bed with full intention of using it as a place of storage for her costume as Peter did with his yesterday.
She had no issue with leaving all her money there for they all carried her scent which she could easily track. She then opened the suitcase Logan had given her and gently took the uniform he had given her out.
Laura looked at it with purpose in her eyes before gently putting it inside her duffle bag.
She then grabbed a stack from her pile of hundreds of thousands of dollars and took a bill out, putting it in her pocket before putting the rest of the clip in her bag.
She was ready to go now, all that was left was waiting on the others.
Laura exited her room and saw Ororo walk down the opposite end of the hallway wearing a stellar Ankara dress while Logan spoke to her wearing an exquisite black suit.
Laura looked back at her own attire before going back to her room.
She stared at her reflection.
Everyone was dressing nice for the occasion while she was wearing a simple tank top.
She had no need for dresses, nor did she have any desire to get any for they were nothing but nuisances with price tags but there was more than just the desire to do the bare minimum now.
She grazed her lips.
Ororo was wearing lipstick and make-up.
Maybe she had some.
She scoured her other duffle bag, the one that housed her belongings and to her frustration she had none. She grit her teeth and grumbled but ceased as she heard a knock on her door.
The knock was then followed by the opening of her door and she stared flatly at the ebony-skinned woman who had opened it.
"May I come in?" Ororo gently asked.
Laura didn't respond and the silk-haired woman took that as a 'yes' for she had begun to take steps inside Laura's room. She ignored the mess of money that was on the girl's bed and watched in amusement as the girl she only knew as 'x' was crouched beside a bag that presumably housed her belongings.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion but I couldn't help but hear sounds of vexation coming from here, do you need help with anything?" Ororo happily offered as she gave Laura a warm smile.
"No," Laura declined as she turned her attention back to her bag.
Ororo stood there however, an all-knowing smile plastered on her face.
"Well, I was just wondering, that is if you aren't busy…if you would like…to put on some war paint?" Ororo said curiously.
Laura turned to her, a blank expression on her face with underlying confusion which Ororo picked up on.
She let out an awkward chuckle, "That is what we used to jokingly say back home when we applied make-up," she finished with a nostalgic smile. Laura's eyes fell to the grown as her mind held off the urge to reject the offer as she contemplated it. "We have plenty of time before we depart to the Parker household, so if you would like, I could give you some of mine," Ororo offered.
"N-" Laura was about to decline the offer but stopped herself before she could.
"..." she looked down as she remembered Peter's words from last night.
"You gotta give others a chance."
She looked back up to the woman who was still smiling at her, a slight fracture within Laura's stoic expression was all she needed and Ororo's smile grew larger.
"Come, follow me," She said as she gestured for the girl to follow.
She did.
Ms. Munroe's room was vastly different from hers.
It was full of cultural paintings, statues, and clothing, some of which she could pinpoint to be actual authentic imports from Egypt. Photos of ones who she could assume were important to Ms. Munroe decorated her furniture while a wood pendant encased the light above.
Laura followed Ororo as she walked towards her dresser which was accompanied by a mirror with various types of makeup that was scattered across the counter, "Take your pick," Ororo simply said and she gazed at the multiple cosmetics that stood in front of her before picking one.
Laura looked at the woman beside her, wondering if it was alright to use it.
Ororo let out a nod.
"Go on," she simply said as she moved to take a seat on her bedside.
Laura complied, putting on the cosmetic as best she could, careful not to make an error. When she was done she sucked in her own lips and puckered them out, tilting her head as she looked at herself once again.
She felt…better.
"Black lipstick suits you perfectly," Ororo complimented from behind Laura as she watched her admire herself.
"Thank you for this," Laura said with gratitude in her voice.
The ebony-skinned woman smiled, "Anytime child." She's never heard X speak with emotion before, to get a response, much more a 'thank you,' was something that made her smile.
She perked up as she saw the green-eyed girl put the black lipstick back in its place.
"Oh, you can keep that," Ororo said, earning confusion from Laura.
"I never use it anyways so it would be a waste if it remains in my possession. I also did say that I would give you some of my makeup, should you follow me," Ororo said with a raised brow and smile.
Laura looked at her with surprise as she retained her grasp on the small cosmetic.
"Why… are you doing this? Laura asked the silk-haired woman.
"Why did you cover for me?" she asked again as the kind woman's actions had left her confused. This was the second time she was interacting with Ms. Munroe, the first being an introduction she didn't reciprocate.
She had done nothing for her and yet she covered for her and was currently helping her.
"I was once a young girl just like you, you know?" she answered and Laura quickly furrowed her brow in response to this.
"We are nothing alike," Laura started with firm belief.
"Oh really? Cause I would beg to differ," Ororo said as she disagreed with Laura's statement.
"You don't know anything about me," Laura declared as she took steps away from the woman.
"And do you know anything about me?" She countered which caused Laura to pause.
"You are not the only one who has done horrible things. I too, have done them for the means of my survival…at least, that is what I tell myself," Ororo admitted to Laura's surprise.
"The streets of Cairo are different from the ones of New York," she stated with a wistful smile and an underlying look of pain in her eyes.
"I…I didn't know," Laura began as she found herself regretting how she spoke to the ebony-skinned woman.
Ororo let out a small smile, "It is not a story I tell many. Come, Sit," She said as she patted a spot right next to her and Laura sat down. "Now.." she paused softly as she looked at the raven-haired girl, "I won't bore you with my story…well…not now, at least…I just wanted to tell you that should you need anything, anything at all, you can always come to me," she finished in a soft and sincere, almost pleading tone which broadcasted a message that even Laura could pick up on.
That it wasn't just anything, but anytime.
Laura looked towards her new cosmetic gift in her hand as Ms. Munroe's words rang throughout her head.
"And well, if not that, I have clothes from my younger years I believe you might like," she added with a raised brow and smirk.
Laura raised a brow of her own.
"I do have a gorgeous leather jacket," she stated with a raised brow and devilish grin.
Laura let out a small huff.
"Another time then child," Ororo chuckled as she waved off the idea and leant back. There was a moment of silence between the two, but a comfortable one. Though she didn't say much, the way she spoke, the infliction in her voice, the look in her eyes, Laura knew they all told a story which was similar to hers.
She did not regret taking her up on her offer.
She made eye contact with her again, and with the faintest of smiles she looked at the woman with silver-silk hair and genuinely said, "Thank you, Ms. Munroe."
The older woman shook her head and smiled, "Please, we are far past formalities X. You can call me Ororo."
Laura was surprised for a brief second and paused, turning away before turning back and saying, "You can call me Laura."
"Past Due…" Peter mumbled to himself as he made his way toward the closest convenience store. Mixed up with all the mail that was on his aunt's desk was a simple white envelope stamped with bright red font that always made his heart sink whenever he saw it.
Aunt May had missed a mortgage payment.
Peter was still registering it within his mind.
He tried to wrap his head around how his aunt missed a payment for there was no way on earth that she couldn't afford it. She worked at a homeless shelter which was run by a billionaire who paid her enough money to be able to pay for the mortgage and other expenses.
Sure, it would barely be enough to cover all the bills but that's where he came in.
He would pitch in and give her money he made at the Bugle so that she could pay off whatever she couldn't.
He would get paid for his photos and at the middle of every month, he would give his aunt five hundred dollars.
That's how it's always been since he got his job at the Bugle and he's never missed a month, he's…
He…
He had given her less than he should've last month.
Peter widened his eyes as he remembered it as clear as day.
With the death off….
…with the death of Gwen…he hadn't worked and opted instead to give Aunt May what little money he had but he starkly remembered her saying that it was okay.
Aunt May said that she had enough money to cover everything.
She lied.
She lied so that he had time to grieve.
Peter clenched his fists, it was his fault that she couldn't cover this month's mortgage payment.
Here he was thinking about making new web shooters.
He's so stupid, of course, she would lie and say that she could cover it.
Now they missed a payment, a mortgage payment at that, which meant that Aunt May's credit score would go down drastically and that…
Wait…no…Mortgage payments were different from other bills.
"There's a grace period," Peter said out loud with a combination of severe surprise and relief upon remembering that mortgages worked differently from other bills.
Mortgage Payments had a fifteen-day grace period; If you couldn't pay for it on the first which is when it's supposed to be paid, then you had up to the fifteenth of the month to make a payment before there were serious reprimands.
Since it was the twelfth, they still had three more days to make a payment.
There was still time.
Peter started hypothesizing about his current situation.
Aunt May probably still had some money left but obviously not enough to pay the mortgage bill.
All he really had to do was give her the amount he usually did, which would be troublesome because Jameson only paid him fifty dollars for a photo, and while that was good, what made it troublesome was that he would only usually buy six photos for three hundred dollars which he would then use throughout the week for the paper, online articles, or the news network.
Three hundred dollars was the bare minimum he needed with four hundred being the safest amount but Jameson never really bought more than six photos at a time.
The reason behind this was while Spider-Man was something that captured the public's interest and a problem that should have a light constantly cast on it, there would always be something else in the week that had more priority to cover like politics, celebrity scandals, or even other superhero shenanigans.
But Spider-Man's been gone for a month now.
With his return surely J.J. would want more pictures than usual.
He still had a batch of old, unused photos he never gave to ole pickle puss cause they weren't the best photos among the best.
If he sold them all to him then that would put him at five hundred which would be more than enough.
He started to grow a smile on his face.
Jameson would definitely buy all of them, after all, everyone was talking about him yesterday when he made his long-awaited return.
"Maybe things aren't so bad after all," he thought to himself as he had his head up, a confident smile on his face as everything was going to be alright.
He made it to the store in a matter of minutes.
It was a small cozy store that had everything someone like him, who shopped at midnight, needed. He grabbed the things his aunt wanted: eggs, milk, whipped cream, coffee mix, flour and baking powder for Aunt May had used all that was left.
He made it to the checkout where the owner scanned his items before saying, "How'd ya like to pay, Peter?"
"Cash," Peter replied as he immediately went to go into his pockets.
The owner pressed a couple of buttons and opened the cash register as Peter put his hand in his left pocket to grab the money that was in there.
It only contained the list his aunt gave him so he decided to go into his right pocket thinking that he had put it in there instead.
It wasn't in the right one either.
An amused expression found its way on the owner's face as a look of confusion dawned on Peter as he frantically checked all of his pockets for the money he was supposed to have on him.
"You forgot the money didn't you?" The cashier asked with an amused grin.
Peter let out a sigh.
He was so blown away by the mortgage bill that he forgot to take the money.
He would like to retract his previous statement about things not being so bad.
"The hell is taking them so long?" Logan asked no one in particular as he impatiently waited with the other instructors in front of the entrance doors.
"Be patient Logan. Whatever it is Ororo is doing, I believe it will end soon," Charles said as he patiently clasped his hands together.
"You've been saying that for the past twenty minutes now Chuck," Logan replied.
"Why don't you try reading a book, Logan? I find that time goes by quite swiftly when one immerses themselves within literature," Hank said as he turned his attention back to the book that was within his hands.
"I haven't read a book in decades," Logan said as he dismissed Hank's recommendation.
"I'm surprised it's been that recent," Henry said with a chuckle which earned a small growl from Logan.
As the instructors of the institute waited within the lobby, in a different room, the students watched with curiosity as the gathering of their well-dressed mentors didn't go unnoticed by them. They whispered among themselves as they peered from the room they were in, watching the group with keen eyes as they came up with conclusions as to why they were gathered in the first place.
"I think we're getting a new student," Bobby said as he peered his head through the door frame.
"Like, of course, we are," Kitty said with the utmost confidence, "Since when do the professors dress for anything else?" She added.
"All of them seem to be going though, there has to be more," Kurt said as he's never once seen all the instructors go to the standard meet and greet when it came to recruiting someone new.
"What do you think, Scott? You've been here longer than all of us?" Kurt asked as he looked at the young man with red shades.
"I don't know Kurt, I've never seen them all go for one student before and the professor didn't mention anything about a new mutant being detected," Scott said as he looked at the group.
"Maybe it just happened," Jean speculated.
"Well whatever it is, I'll find out," Scott said as he walked out of the room to face the group, full intention of finding out what was happening and why the professor had not informed him.
"Professor, What's all this for?" Scott asked as he approached the group earning their attention.
"None of your business Summers," Logan harshly said but Scott paid no mind to him, though bitter glares were exchanged.
The bald man in question simply turned his wheelchair around to face the young man, "I'll tell you Scott, as soon as Jean stops poking around in my head," He finished with a smirk as he turned his gaze to the direction of the red-haired woman.
Jean stopped her foolish attempts at going through the Professor's head and stepped into the room with Kitty, Kurt, and Bobby following suit as they were also interested in what was happening.
"What do I keep telling you about going through other people's heads Jean?" Professor Xavier said with a raised brow as he looked at the young woman.
"That I should respect their privacy and refrain from doing so," Jean reiterated, "You've been saying that since I was sixteen Professor," She added.
"I know, and you still haven't listened well into your adult years," he said with a level of fondness as she shook his head.
"I've gotten better," Jean defended herself, earning a snort from everyone who was there.
"You are correct about the fact that you have gotten better," Xavier said giving credit to the girl, "but, please do refrain from pulling this on our new student, I doubt he'd like having someone poking around his head."
"None of us do," Kitty muttered, earning a chuckle from Logan who was the only one who could hear the girl's words.
"That's what this is about? We're getting a new student?" Scott asked and the professor nodded.
"Indeed we are. Peter Benjamin Parker, age sixteen and turning seventeen like you Kitty. He lives in New York Queens with his Aunt and his mutant powers just emerged yesterday morning but due to some…special circumstances, we couldn't reach him," Charles informed the students who looked at each other with surprise.
"Do you need me to come with you?" Scott asked.
The professor simply let out a smile and shook his head.
"No, not this time Scott."
"Wouldn't it be better to have his aunt meet a student though?" Scott asked.
"It would, which is why we're bringing one with us," He simply answered.
"Who?" Jean asked as the students looked at one another wondering who it was that was going to be tagging along.
Logan let out a sniff and the Professor merely turned his attention to the top of the stairs.
Everyone else did the same.
"X?" Kitty asked with disbelief as the raven-haired girl in question stood atop the steps with Ororo beside her and a green bag over her shoulder.
Laura looked past the crowd of students who looked at her completely dumbfounded.
"X... is going with you Professor?" Scott asked the man as his mentor with blatant confusion.
"Yes, she is," he responded as if there would be no issue.
"Are you…sure about this?" Scott questioningly asked for the impression he got from X was that she was the farthest thing from a people person, if that wasn't obvious enough with her preference to be alone and ignore everyone.
"Indeed I am Scott. It is actually because of X that Mr. Parker agreed to see us in the first place," Professor Xavier added, which surprised the students once again.
Laura walked past him and everyone else, not batting an eye as she focused her attention on Logan.
"Have everything?" he asked her as she stood before him.
She nodded.
"Alright then, let's not waste any more time," Logan said as he made his way towards the garage with Laura following him.
The students still looked at her with bafflement all over their faces as the instructors followed both her and Logan.
"Scott, as usual, I entrust you with everything in my absence. If anything happens you know what to do. We'll be back soon and I'll inform you all if Mr. Parker agrees to join us, until then, stay out of trouble," The Professor routinely said as he turned his back to his students who all stared at them, still perplexed about what they heard.
The students made their way to the living room, their minds on the new student as they heard the sound of a vehicle starting.
"Peter Parker huh?" Bobby said as he thought about the possible new student.
"I still can't believe they're all going just for him," Kurt said as he walked side by side with his friend.
"I can't believe that it's X of all who is going," Bobby said, "The professor must be out of his mind to think that having her will convince him to join. One wrong move and she might just kill him…" he said with underlying annoyance as he looked at Kitty.
"The professor did say that it was because of her that he agreed to see us today Bobby, he might be a friend of hers," Jean stated as she recalled the Professor's words.
"She has friends?" Bobby said with complete skepticism.
"Possibly, we don't really know much about her," Jean said with a shrug.
"We don't know anything about her," Scott firmly stated.
"I don't think he's just her friend," Kitty said as her unusual silence was broken.
Everyone looked at her confused, "what makes you say that?"
"She was wearing make-up."
Peter came scrambling home to his frantic Aunt who immediately opened the door for him, a look of panic on her face as well.
"You forgot the money Peter!" Aunt May stressfully exclaimed as she handed him the money.
"I know!" Peter instantly replied as he stuffed the money into his pocket.
"They're gonna be here any second now," Aunt May said, adding fuel to the fire.
"I know!" He replied in a more urgent tone.
"You have to hurry."
"I know!" he yelled as he ran out of the house.
A long black limousine parked on fifty-one Ingram Street.
"This the house?" Logan asked as he pulled over to the side.
"Yes," Laura simply replied from the passenger seat as she looked on at the familiar home.
Professor Xavier, Ororo, and McCoy sat behind them, their eyes glued on the average-looking home. They all got out of the car, grabbing the attention of every passerby due to their fine appearances.
"I was anticipating something a bit more…grandeur in scale," McCoy stated his opinion as he observed every detail of the home the group was walking towards.
"I think it is a wonderful home," Ororo said as she looked at the well-tended garden while escorting Xavier.
"I can see how such a place can house such a magnificent mind, however," McCoy added.
"Eager to meet him, Henry?" Xavier asked with a knowing smile.
"As much as you are, my friend, but for different reasons. While Mr. Parker's…'activities' is what got everyone so thrilled to meet him, I am more fascinated by his mind. From what the records show, he is nothing short of a boy genius, a child prodigy. Top in every class he's in, appropriately named 'Midtown High's best and brightest,'" McCoy said with excitement as he recited his knowledge on Peter.
Logan rolled his eyes as he walked on the steps that led to the front door.
"Yea, yea, we get it, you're in love," Logan said as he looked at the hairy man, "Just keep the science talk to a minimum, we're here to talk about his enrollment, not trans-whatever travel," Logan said as he knocked on the door before standing behind Charles.
"It's transtemporal travel, Logan," McCoy corrected, earning a scoff from Logan.
Everyone, including Laura who stood behind everyone, watched the door with pure anticipation as they heard footsteps slowly approach them.
When the door opened they were greeted with the sight of an old woman wearing a vintage yet beautiful pink dress with a white apron over it. She had a smile plastered on her face as she looked at the group of people who stood before her.
"Oh hello, you must be the people from the institute who are here to see my nephew Peter?" Aunt May asked with excitement in her voice.
"Indeed we are Mrs…" Professor Xavier spoke up.
"Parker. May Parker," Aunt May said with pride.
"Well, Mrs. Parker I am Professor Charles Xavier, and we are indeed here to talk about your nephew and his possible enrollment within my institute," Xavier said, finishing it off with a smile and in response, she opened the door wide for them.
"Well come on in, make yourselves at home," She happily said as she moved to the side, letting them enter her humble abode.
Logan took Professor Xavier from Ororo and rolled him into the house with McCoy right behind him.
"Would you like us to take off our shoes Mrs. Parker? I'd hate to dirty this floor of yours," Ororo asked before entering.
"Oh it's alright, you can come on in. I doubt you could dirty the floor anyways with how beautiful you look Ms…"
"Munroe," Ororo said with a smile as she entered the Parker household.
Laura had managed to sneak in with Logan and McCoy. She looked around the house that Peter grew up in with interest as the adults introduced themselves to his Aunt. The first floor was decorated with a collection of vintage and modern furniture. The living room was quite big, housing a couch and two chairs which surrounded a fireplace and the T.V above it. The dining room and kitchen were not far from the living room and both were pleasant which attributed to the warm and welcoming feel the Parker's modest home radiated.
The house had a pleasant smell that made her feel at peace and there was an even nicer one emanating from the oven.
But something was missing.
She let out another sniff, trying to find what she was looking for while the others continued their introductions.
"I'd like to first thank you for having us on such short notice, Mrs. Parker" Charles said as everyone got set up in the living room.
"Oh, it's nothing to worry about Professor Xavier. When Peter told me that people from an institute were coming to see him today I was more than excited," Aunt May said with joy in her voice.
"Well, we're just as excited about the possibility of your nephew joining us as you are Mrs. Parker. You've already acquainted yourself with one of our administrators Munroe, let me introduce you to the others," Charles said as he gestured towards Henry who stood beside him, "This over here is Dr. Henry Phillip 'Hank' McCoy who has a doctorate in the sciences," he said as Hank took a step forward and let out a bow.
"It is a pleasure to make acquaintance with you Mrs. Parker," Henry said with a friendly smile.
"A doctor?" Aunt May said in an impressed voice.
"Indeed I am a Doctor. Graduated the top of my class at Bard College over by the Hudson River," He said proudly.
"Do you know that my nephew, Peter, is also into the sciences?" Aunt May mentioned.
"Midtown highs best and brightest if my source is correct?" Henry asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, he is," May confirmed with a proud smile.
"I look forward to getting myself acquainted with him," Henry said as he took a step back.
"And this over here is Logan," Charles said as he looked up at the nicely dressed but still gruff man who stood behind him.
"Nice place," he said as he nodded.
"He's in charge of the student's health and safety," Charles said before turning his head.
He turned his gaze and let out a small smile as he watched the X-23 slightly look around, no doubt wondering where the focus of this meeting was. Her stoic expression slightly hardened as she felt his gaze on her and she turned to face him as she threw her thoughts to the side.
"And this is…"
Aunt May took a step forward towards Laura.
The warm hazel eyes of May Parker met the gorgeous ones of Laura Kinney and Laura found herself unable to meet her eyes for long. She did not know why but there was something about the lady whic-
"You must be Laura!" Aunt May happily said as she quickly made her way towards the petite girl.
She brought the girl's hands together and wrapped them within her own as she warmly stared at her much to Laura's surprise, "Oh, Peter's told me so much about you," May happily said as she observed the girl.
At the mention of her name, both the Professor and Henry were left surprised.
"He said you were an extremely nice girl," Aunt May said with a smile and all Laura could do was look down. She wasn't expecting such a warm and accepting introduction and yet she found herself reciprocating Aunt May's grasp.
She let out a nod, "He says…a lot of things like that," she said as she found herself quickly at ease within the woman's presence. "He also said you were rough and the edges," May said playfully and Logan let out a snort at that. She didn't know how to respond, "Sometimes I wonder if he has head on straight for you seem wonderful," she said as she moved her hands to her cheeks.
"And beautiful too," Aunt May said with a warm gaze. Laura simply nodded at this, extremely glad at her response.
"Where is he?" she said slowly as Peter was nowhere in the home.
"He's just at the store getting some groceries. He would be here right now but he forgot the money I gave him so he had to come back," she said with a laugh.
Laura let out an amused huff.
They heard footsteps quickly approaching the door and both Laura and Logan immediately recognized the scent. Aunt May immediately turned around, always excited to see the nephew she loved dearly.
"Ooh, That must be him, would you be a dear and-" May tried to ask Laura to open the door for him but when she turned to look at her she was gone.
She turned back to where the door was and watched with surprised eyes as Laura had immediately gone to open the door for him.
"-get the door for him…" she finished with a small smile as she looked at the retreating form with fond eyes.
Peter carried a bag of groceries alongside milk in one hand as he fumbled to get his keys with the other. He managed to grab his keys but the change that was in his pocket also came out much to his annoyance.
He let out a sigh.
"C'mon God, please don't make this a bad one," Peter asked the unseen figure.
He let out a grumble as he bent down to pick up the coins. The front door opened and he didn't bother batting an eye as he figured that it was Aunt May who had opened it for him.
"Now look, Aunt May, I got everything that you asked for but they didn't have the coffee you wanted so I just go-" He immediately stopped talking as he noticed a familiar pair of black boots at the top of his vison which only belonged to one person he knew.
He looked up and was met with the stunning sight of Laura Kinney which left him completely dumbfounded. She stared at him for a while before her eyes drifted to the coin that was right in front of her.
Laura bent down to pick it up as Peter still looked at her with his mouth agape.
"You dropped your coin."
FFN does not like me referring to storm as Ms.[last name]
I wanted this chapter to be free of issues so I worked my ass off only for words to be deleted for some reason.
Shit.
Edit: 3:53 am, FFN does not like using Ms. or Mr. with no space, a quick fix is simply putting a space in between, I have looked and fixed most of the issues my speed reading could detect.